Tales of the World: Ancient World
by Anomynous Nin
Summary: A thousand years ago, there existed a world that vanished from the planet. Thousand years later, the hero of Symphonia found himself in the world that supposed to be gone for a long time. Now, he must fight with his new friends to defeat a new foe.
1. Prologue

Hey, people. What's up? It's me, Anomynous Nin. And I'm here with, yet again, a new fanfic. This might be my last new fanfic for a while. So, to everyone who wants me to update my old stories, then after a few chapters with this story, I'll do the others soon. Anyway, here's the new one.

This story is called Tales of the World: Ancient World. It's a X-over Tales fanfic. I begun to think about it ever since I played Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3. Well, here it is.

This story is about Lloyd and the rest of the Tales characters (Phantasia, Eternia, Destiny, Destiny 2, Rebirth, Symphonia, Dawn of the New World, Legendia and Abyss) got all suck in another world. A world called Terendos... Yeah, kind of a weird name, but that's all I got. Only one enemy is behind all of this... And it's a Final Fantasy character. Who? You'll find out a little later.

And also, if you guys are wondering which Tales character is the main hero of the story, it's Lloyd. Played Tales of the Symphonia first. Sorry, Cless fans, but Lloyd is the best. And he'll team up with some of the Tales characters along the story. However, some of the characters are not going to be in his team, but they will join him temporary.

Anyway, here's the story. Enjoy.

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**Artes**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tales games... Do I have to say it a lot?

**Prologue:**

**The Beginning of the World**

Long ago, in a world that vanished for 1000 years...

This world is a peaceful one. A world so peaceful that no monster could penetrate it. This world is named Terendos. And it is a world where all humans, elves and any sort of creatures lived happily. Mighty warriors in Terendos were able to hold off any dangers that awaited the people. And so, they lived in harmony for a long time...

Or so they thought...

Their harmony ended when a new group of evil begun to ravaging Terendos. They destroyed everything in their way with no difficulty. Those group were called the Dark Raiders.

Those raiders were the one who made the world vanish into nothing. And all of the people who were living in it all disappeared with it. Terendos was never seen ever since...

1000 years later... In the entwined world of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla...

In the main roads of the field, in Sylvarant, two people are walking down the road. Those two people are the heroes to Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. They are the Symphonian heroes.

One of the heroes was a young man called Lloyd Irving, a red clad swordman. He had a brown, straight-up hair and red eyes. He wore a red jacket, a pair of black trousers, with brown straps, and a pair of red boots. He wields two swords on the sides of his trousers each and a small, blue orb on his left forehand. Lloyd is known as the light of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. He helped reunite the two worlds together in its former state. Everyone lived happily after that... Or so he thought.

Accompany him is Colette Brunel. The last Chosen of Regeneration of Sylvarant. She had a long, blond hair and a pair of blue sky eyes. She wore a white shirt, with some kind of white dress over it, a pair of black purple pants and a pair of white boots. She wields two chakrams and had a cruxis crystal on the bottom of her neck. She is lovable by Sylvarant. However, because of the attack of the out of control World Tree, the people who lost the people important to them hated Colette for running away from her journey of World Regeneration. But even so, she had never give in their hatred. She is still the Colette we knew for a long time. She had many angel abilities from the Cruxis.

Lloyd and Colette were on a journey to destroy all of the expheres, to ensure that no one uses them for evil. They already destroyed the expheres from the Asgard Ranch and the Palmacosta Ranch. Their next objective was to destroy the expheres in the Iselia Ranch, where their people were taken for experiments.

"Alright. We're heading for the destroyed Iselia Ranch, Colette." said Lloyd, reminding Colette about their destination.

"Yes. The Iselia Human Ranch is the last ranch where many expheres were being held. And after that, it'll be all over for now." said Colette.

"You know... it's been two months already ever since we defeated Mithos, reunited Sylvarant and Tethe'alla and gone to the quest to find and destroy all the expheres, don't you think, Colette?"

"Yeah... Once we're done with all of this... Everyone will live happily ever after."

"Yeah..." Lloyd gently smiled. After they destroy all of the expheres, no one will suffer any pain anymore. No one will live in a terrible life because of those expheres. However, before they go to the ranch, Lloyd had an idea. "Hey, how about we go and visit Iselia? I mean, it's been a long time since we visited there."

"Sure, Lloyd. I haven't seen anyone in there for a long time. I hope they aren't worry sick about me."

"Well, you're the last chosen. So it would be possible for them to worry."

Colette giggled a little. "Yeah, probably."

"Anyway, let's go to Iselia."

"Right."

The two heroes of Symphonia both left to Iselia, to see their old people.

Iselia is a small, peaceful village. This is where Colette was born. Her grandmother and father lived here as well. A lot of people who were about to be experimented on the ranch all lived in Iselia without any danger. The mayor of the village once declined that, but later on, he learns that it is the right thing to do. So then, the people of Iselia were worry sick about Colette, as what she thought.

Lloyd and Colette reached Iselia and enter through the entrance. The people who were near the entrance all looked at Colette with joy.

"Hey, look! It's Colette!" said one of the male villagers.

"Colette! You came back!" said one of the female ones.

"Welcome home, Colette!" said another one of the males.

Most of the people all grouped up and walked toward Colette, greeting her and enjoying seeing her after all this time. "Everyone, I'm really happy to see you all again. It's been a long time since I saw all of you." said Colette.

"How's your journey to destroy the expheres coming along?" asked one of the villagers.

"It's been fine, thanks for asking."

"I hope you're not too bored and anything, are you, Colette?" asked another one.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you."

"Colette." Lloyd, Colette and the villagers heard someone out of the group. They turned to the direction of the voice and saw an old woman. Colette's grandmother, Phaidra.

"Grandmother!" said Colette, who is smiling with joy.

"It's good to see you again, Colette." said Phaidra, who smiled with joy.

Colette ran to her grandmother and hugged her affectionly. "It's been a long time. How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Seeing you back here makes me feel happy and wonderful again."

"Oh grandmother!"

Behind Phaidra, a man with blond hair came in. It is Colette's father, Frank. "Colette! It's you!"

Colette looked behind Phaidra and saw her father. "Father! How are you?"

"I'm well, Colette. I'm happy to see you back here. We've been worry sick about you."

"I'm sorry, father. The journey has been qite long than I expected."

"It's alright, Colette." Frank looked away from her and saw Lloyd within the crowd. "Lloyd Irving! It is nice to see you again!"

"Pleasure to see you too, Frank. You too, Phaidra." said Lloyd.

"Why thank you, Lloyd." said Phaidra.

"Lloyd, Colette, is your journey to destroy the expheres over?" asked Frank.

"Not yet. We still need to take care of the expheres from the Iselia Human Ranch. So our journey isn't quite over yet." answered Lloyd.

"We're here so we can see everyone again, before we go and left off again to destroy the expheres." said Colette.

"I see. Well, I hope you're not taking it too long. If so, then the people of Iselia will be worried about you once more, Colette." said Frank.

"I'm sorry, father."

"Again, it's alright, Colette."

"Lloyd, I heard that you and Colette destroyed the expheres from the Asgard and Palmacosta Ranch, correct?" asked Phaidra.

"That's right. The Iselia Ranch is the last ranch that still has the expheres. After that, we'll go and find the remaining expheres somewhere around Sylvarant and Tethe'alla." answered Lloyd.

"Wait... Did you say Tethe'alla?" said one of the villagers.

Lloyd looked at the villager with a questionnable look. "Yeah. What's up with Tethe'alla?"

"Those Tethe'allans... Those bastards..."

"Hm? What?"

"How could they even been born, for goddess...? They were not nice people... They treated us like we're some dogs to them! They're-!" Before he could say more, one of them covered his mouth, preventing him to say anything else.

"Sorry, Lloyd. It's just that the Tethe'allans are different from us Sylvaranti. But please, don't try and understand his complains."

"I see. Alright then." said Lloyd.

After hearing about what the other guy said, Colette looked at Phaidra. "Grandmother, what's wrong with him? Why is he saying such mean things to the Tethe'allans?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Colette. But it's too complicated to explain all of this. I think it's best to tell you later, after you are done with your journey." said Phaidra.

"Um... Alright, grandmother."

"Colette, please forgive us for not telling you this now." apologized Frank.

"It's alright. I understand."

"Well, looks like we have to go now. Sorry, everyone. But I promise, me and Colette will visit you all some other time." said Lloyd.

"Alright, Lloyd. Be careful, you two." said Phaidra.

"We will."

Colette walked back to Lloyd and waved her arm to everyone. "Goodye, everyone! I hope you'll have a very good time later!"

"Bye, Colette! We will miss you!" said Phaidra.

"Be careful, Colette!" said Frank.

Everyone all said goodbye to Colette and Lloyd, as the two heroes set off from Iselia and headed to the Human Ranch, where most of the expheres are found.

The Human Ranches are where all the captured people from some of the villages and towns were being held. Some of the Desians Grand Cardinal were in charge of the ranches, until, that is, Lloyd and the party killed them and destroyed the human ranches for good. Humans were experimented to create more and more expheres for the Desians' power. However, if the human with an exphere had lost all of his will to live, he will transform into a monster. Lloyd and the others had end this kind of disaster and chaos.

Lloyd and Colette reached the Human Ranch. The ranch is all demolished and destroyed, thanks to its self destruct system. However, the ranch isn't exactly destroyed. But it is not functional anymore.

After reaching the ranch, Lloyd let out a sigh. "Man... This sure brings bad memories..."

"What's wrong, Lloyd?" asked Colette.

"I remember what happened when I was in the human ranch. Genis and I were trying to save Marble from keeping being held in the ranch, but we couldn't. And because of that, we violated the peace treaty. And what's worse... Marble turned into a monster... I couldn't forget how horrible it is..."

"Lloyd... It's alright. It's over now. No one will be experimented for expheres anymore. No one will suffer the same way as your mom and Marble."

"Yeah... You're right, Colette... but still..." He looked down at the ground with a sad face. "... I couldn't stop thinking about it... How my mom, Marble and everyone else who were being held in the ranches were suffering... I can't stand it..."

"Lloyd..." Colette begun to cup his face and lift it up, so he could face Colette with it. "It's alright. I'm here now. I'll help you forget all those terrible things that happened to everyone." She gave Lloyd a smile.

Lloyd smiled as well, upong hearing what she said. "Colette... Thank you... I'm glad to have you as my friend."

"And I'm glad to have you as my friend too, Lloyd."

"Colette..."

"Lloyd..."

They stared at each other as long as they can to admire the time they shared together. It had been long since the two of them were friends together. Ever since they were kids. Now, they finally knew what it's like to have each other by their side.

However, before they could admire more of their time together, an explosion was heard. They took their mind off of each other and looked at to where the explosion is heard.

"What the hell?" said Lloyd.

"What's going on?" said Colette.

In their view, they see a large smoke coming above. Once the smoke clears a little, they see a small village, with the smoke flying above it.

"Wait... Isn't that...?" asked Lloyd.

Colette gasped. "Iselia!"

"Oh no!"

Both Lloyd and Colette ran off from the human ranch and straight to Iselia. They wannted to know what happened in Iselia and why an Explosion had come in place in their home.

Once they reached back to Iselia, they saw a shocking scene in front of them.

"No..." said Lloyd.

"How... horrible..." said Colette.

The scene before them is Iselia, engulfind by flames. Most of the houses were all burn down. Some of the people were on the ground. Unconscious, perhaps. Or worse... dead. Their home was in flames and was in a verge of being destroyed.

"What's... What's happening...?! Who did this to Iselia!?" yelled out Lloyd.

A man, one of the villagers, ran through the destruction of the houses and bumped into Lloyd and Colette. "Lloyd! Colette! It's horrible! Horrible, I say!"

"What's happening?! Who did this?!" asked Colette.

"It's horrible! Some men in black armors appeared out of nowhere and begin to attack Iselia, killing anyone that stands in our way!"

"Men in black armors...?" said Lloyd.

"You gotta save us, Chosen one! Save us before Iselia will be in-!" Before he could finish, a quick slash appeared behind him. The man slowly collapsed and fell on the ground, dead.

"No!" yelled Colette. Both Lloyd and Colette looked at someone who was behind the villager. A man with black armors, with a sword in his hand, came before the heroes. "Who... who are you?"

The man in black armors said nothing.

"Who are you, damn it?! Why are you destroying Iselia!?" yelled Lloyd.

"... Colette... Brunel..." said the man finally.

"Huh? What?" said the confused Colette.

"Our lord... wants you... Come with us..."

"What... What do you want from Colette?!" Lloyd drawn out his twin swords from his sheaths and got on his fighting stances, facing at the warrior in black armors.

"Get out... of our way... Insolent fool!" The black warrior extended his hand at Lloyd. And, as if by a mystical force, Lloyd was suddenly pushed away in a few feet, before he falls on the ground.

"Lloyd!" screamed Colette. She pulled out two of her chakrams and tried to attack the warrior. He easily blocks it with his sword and pushed her off. "Ah!" She fell on the ground.

"Do not resist... Our lord wants you, Colette Brunel... Come with us..."

"No! I won't! Not after what you guys done to Iselia!" Colette got up from the ground and got on her fighting stance.

"Then we have no choice, but to do this... the hard way..." The warrior spreaded out his arms and let out a large, inhuman cry. Colette covered her ears from the loud sound of the cry.

Lloyd got up when the cry is heard and covered his ears. "What the...?!"

"What... What are you doing...?!" said Colette.

Suddenly, as if by magic, five more warriors in black appeared behind the calling warrior. "Colette Brunel... You will not get away from us..." The six warriors all charged at Colette with quick speed.

Seeing this, Colette quickly let out her angel wings and flew up away from them, safe from danger. "They're... fast!"

The warriors all looked up to her. "Using your angel powers... It is not going to help you, Colette Brunel..." Before they could do anything to her, they quickly saw Lloyd charging at them.

Lloyd let out a battly cry. "I won't let you have Colette, you bastards!" He stops suddenly and slamed his swords on the ground, creating a large shockwave at them. "**Fierce Demon Fang!**"

The five warriors jumped out of the Arte's range, while the other one stayed. Before the Arte can touch him, however, it stopped. When it stopped, it conpletely sucked into the warrior's hand, when he extended his arm just before the Arte touch him. "Futile..."

"What the...?! How did you...?!"

The warrior quickly appeared right in front of Lloyd. "My turn..." He uppercutted him to the air, sending him flying up.

"Grah...!" Lloyd groaned in pain. In a flash, the warrior quickly appeared above Lloyd, preparing for a powerful blow. Lloyd saw how quick he is and gasped. "What in the world...?!"

"You are a nuissance!" The warrior slams his fist at Lloyd, sending him crashing down. "Now, to finish you off..." He opened up his fist and suddenly, some kind of energy appeared on his hand. "Die!" His hand shot out a large beam.

When Lloyd crashed to the ground, the large beam got him and delivers a large pain around him. "AAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!" Lloyd screamed out of pain. Then, a large smoke was let out after the beam stopped firing.

"LLOYD!!!" yelled out Colette. Suddenly, the other warrior in black came behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck, holding her from sliping away. "Kuh...!"

"Got you..." Both the warrior and Colette disappeared from the air and reappeared on the ground, as with all the other warriors. "I have Colette Brunel..."

"Excellent..." said the warrior who "killed" Lloyd. "Our mission is over... Let us go back to..." Before he could say more, he heard a groan coming from Lloyd.

Lloyd tried to get up from the ground, ignoring the pain he had from the blow. "Ngh...! Damn it...!"

"Interesting... He survived from my beam shot... He must be special..."

"Wait..." said another one of the warriors. "He had the same energy readings as Colette Brunel... Could he be...?"

"I do not know... Let us report this to our lord... Our mission is done... Let us go now..." The five warriors, except for the one who was holding Colette, all disappeared from Iselia.

"Lloyd...! LLOYD!!!!!!" screamed Colette. She extended her arm at Lloyd, trying to reach out to him.

"Colette!" With a little more effort, he stood up from the ground and ran at Colette and the warrior. He jumped at them so he could catch both her and the warrior. However, it was too late. They both disappeared before Lloyd could catch them. "Colette!" He fell to the ground after failing to catch them. He looked around the village to look for her, but no sign of her around the village.

She was truely gone.

"COLETTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

**End prologue**

Done with the prologue, everyone. I hope you guys are enjoying this. Because I always want to make a Tales of the World fic like this. Now, I have. So, I'm proud for my fic and I hope I could continue it.

Well, time to rest now. See ya, everyone! And review, please!


	2. Chapter 1

Hm... Only one review... Meh, I guess it's worth it. Still need to correct my grammar and mistakes. Anyway, at least some of you like it. And also, I forgot to mention that Vesperia will be in the Tales X-over fic as well. Thanks, StarGuy.

Anyway, here's the first chapter of the story. This is where everything gets interesting... Well, to me, at least. So then, after that, I'll go and post up The list of all of the Tales characters that are going to be in the game. There will be some voting, if there's enough people. But hey, I'm myself. I decide to do things around here.

Anyway, here's chapter 1. Enjoy.

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**Arte**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tales games.

**Chapter 1:**

**Searching for the missing Chosen**

The news was all over Sylvarant. The Sylvaranti has heard what happened in Iselia. And also, they have heard something terrible.

Colette Brunel has disappeared.

The people of Sylvarant panicked. Their chosen has gone missing without any trace. Many of them are trying to find her around the world, even in Tethe'alla. However, they haven't found her.

Lloyd Irving, who took the most of the panic, had given up on his journey to destroy the expheres in search for Colette. He traveled in many, many places around Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, even the places that he never been before. However, Colette was not here in either of the two worlds.

Even so, when the news was around the world, Lloyd's friends all heard about what happened to Colette, and they all go to find her. Her disappearance had shocked them.

Genis and Raine, two Half-elves siblings who were on a quest to stop the Half-elf discrimination, seperated from each other and looked for Colette in many places.

Sheena, a ninja and summoner from Mizuho, ordered all of the ninjas, as chief succesor, to find Colette around the world. She too had look around for her.

Zelos, a chosen of Tethe'alla, was worried about Colette. He left Meltokio and searched for her somewhere in Tethe'alla.

Presea, a lone girl who lived in the destroyed and now, in repair, Ozette, has heard of the news and, as well, began to search for Colette.

Regal, president of the Lezareno company, had to leave the company behind to search for Colette.

Everyone are searching for Colette everywhere in Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. However, they could not find her anywhere.

The search for the missing chosen has gone for two months...

In Iselia, the people of the village are constanly repairing their home, after the attack of the mysterious warriors in black armors. Most of the villagers left their home to search for Colette and some who decided to stay behind were repairing Iselia. This time, Iselia is under heavy guard, in case the black warriors come back to attack their home.

While repairing Iselia, someone came through the entrance of the village. It was Lloyd, with a discouraged face.

"Lloyd!" Phaidra and Frank came in to see him, wanting to know the whereabouts of Colette. "Did you find her?" asked Phaidra.

Sadly, Lloyd slowly shook his head. Phaidra and Frank were both discourage at yet another failing attempt to find the chosen. "I'm sorry... I couldn't save Colette from those guys... I was too weak against them... If I was a little stronger... Then maybe I... I..."

"Lloyd, don't blame yourself. We all know that you have done your best to protect her. The warriors in black armors are really strong to us. Do not blame yourself for failing to save her." said Frank, trying to comfort Lloyd from giving in.

"Thanks, Frank... I needed that..."

"Oh Lloyd. I forgot to mention something. The mayor wants to see you right away after you come back to Iselia." said Phaidra.

"What? Man, I don't have time for him to yell at me and blame me for what I've done in the past..."

"This is a serious discussion. You have to meet him in his house."

"Alright, fine. But I don't like this." So, Lloyd went away from Phaidra and Frank and over the mayor's house.

Lloyd isn't too comfortable with the mayor, ever since the Desians attacked Iselia for breaking the peace treaty. Mayor has exiled both Lloyd and Genis for breaking the treaty. And even so, right after the destruction of the World Tree, he blamed Lloyd once again for everything he had done. Bringing the captured people here in Iselia, for bringing two half-elves with him and so on. He had also blame Colette, for running away from her journey of World Regeneration. Fortunately, the villagers all disagreed to what the mayor said on the party. And he finally gave in to their decision.

Right now, Lloyd had no idea what will happen if he takes one step inside. "Well... Here I go..." He turned the doorknob of the front door and opened it up, entering inside of the mayor's house.

The mayor noticed the door open and he saw Lloyd coming in. "Ah... Lloyd Irving. Still failing to find Colette?" he said.

"Yeah, yeah, enough with that. What do you want with me? I doubt it's something nice."

"Actually... It is something good, for a change."

"Hm?" Lloyd was confused about what the mayor said.

"Lloyd, I don't know if this will work, but the scientist of Tethe'alla's city, Sybak, has found some evidence on where Colette disappeared like that."

Hearing that, Lloyd's spirit has gone up. "Really?! What did they say?! Where did they think Colette was being held?!"

"Calm down, Lloyd. It's not something you should very happy about. They don't know where Colette was."

"Oh... I see..." Lloyd's spirit went back down again.

"However, they have found some small evidences on where Colette is. If they were right, Colette will be somewhere near Iselia."

"Near Iselia?"

"However, they weren't able to confirm the precise place. It could be Triet or the Iselia Human Ranch. We don't know about it."

"I see."

"Lloyd, I know I had seen you differently than the others, and still have."

"Don't remind me, you idiot." Lloyd frowned.

"... But if it's not too late for me to do so, I like to encourage you to find Colette as soon as possible. I know how dear Colette is to you, but don't give up. I am sure with more evidence, you will find her eventually."

"... Wow..." Lloyd was rather suprise at what the moayor said to him. "That's... That was a nice thing that I heard for a while. Thanks."

"It's not a problem. Now, go. Find Colette in the places near Iselia to see if the scientists from Sybak are correct. Even if they're not correct, find some more evidence to find Colette easier."

"Right. Thanks, mayor." With his courage up and running again, Lloyd exited the mayor's house to go and continue his search for Colette.

The mayor let out a sigh. "I hope this doesn't go to wrong..."

Outside, Lloyd, in high spirit, stretched his arms high in the air, before relaxing his muscles. "Alright! Colette, here I come!" He ran off.

His first destination is in Triet. Triet is where the scientists' first guess are. If Colette is here, then there's hope for Sylvarant after all. However, before he could get to the entrance of Iselia, he had soon stop when he saw someone coming in the entrance. "Hey... Isn't that...?"

The person from the entrance looked very familiar to Lloyd. According to her look, she's a little different from the humans... Even elves. She had silver hair and a pair of grey eyes. She wore a white shirt, with a red cloak over it, a pair of black pants and a pair of white boots.

After seeing her appearance, Lloyd knows who she is. "Professor Sage!" He ran towards her.

The woman saw Lloyd coming to her. "Lloyd!" she said.

She is known as Raine Sage, a half-elf. She is a spellcaster and a healer. Once before, she had parents once before. They took care of her and they would not let anything stand in their way... Until... the discrimination.

Because that she's a half-elf, the humans tried to kill her. Knowing that it is not safe in Tethe'alla, her mother left both Raine and Genis in the Otherwordly gate to Sylvarant, to save them from being slaughtered.

After the defeat of Mithos and the reunion of the two worlds, Raine and Genis began to go on a journey to stop the discrimination. However, the journey came to halt when they heard that Colette has gone missing so suddenly.

Lloyd stopped in front of Raine and smiled at her. "Professor Sage, it's good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you too, Lloyd. It has been four months since we last seen each other."

"Professor, are you also searching for Colette?"

"Yes. When I heard that Colette has gone missing, I had to stop the journey to come and search for her."

"You and Genis are seperated from each other?"

"Yes. It's best if we split up and find Colette in numerous of places. Being together won't let us find Colette any faster. So, I thought that I would stop by Iselia to meet everyne in here. And I was surprise to see you in here."

"Well, I was searching for Colette too. And I have to go now. The mayor told me that the scientists from Sybak found some evidences of where Colette had gone to."

"Really? Where do you think she's been held?"

"He told me that it's near Iselia. Maybe Triet or the Human Ranch. So now, I have to go to Triet to find Colette!" He was about to go and run off through Raine to go to Triet, until, that is, Raine stopped him.

"Wait, Lloyd. Triet and the Human Ranch are the most less common places for Colette to being held. First of all, I have already been in Triet before. And I found nothing else, not even Colette. Second, if Colette was held in the Human Ranch, with those mysterious men in black armors, shouldn't we hear something about the ranch being repaired?"

"Now that you mentioned it, I have been on the Human Ranch a while ago."

"Then neither of those places have Colette in it. I'm sorry, Lloyd."

"No... It's alright... I'll go and search everywhere again for Colette... I can't give up hope yet... I have to find her."

A moment later, Raine found something else in her head. "Wait... Didn't the scientists mention something else other than Triet and the Human Ranch?"

"Um... No. The mayor told me that the common places are Triet and the Ranch. Do you think there's places else?"

Raine sighed. "Lloyd, you do remember the Martel Temple, don't you?"

That hit him. "Of course! The Martel Temple! Damn it, how could I be so oblivious!? I forgot about the temple!"

She sighed again. "Lloyd, really, you've been traveling around the world and you forgot about the temple? I should just give you some homework to do, while I'm at it..."

"Come on, Professor! I'm not the same, old Lloyd you knew anymore! I'm stronger, faster and smarter than anything!"

"Then what's the difference between the Dark Bottle and the Holy Bottle?"

"Uh... That's a good question... Um... Uh... The difference is... Uh..."

Rained sighed once more. "You need more homework, Lloyd."

"Oh come on, Professor! This isn't fair!"

"No time for chatting. We have to get to the Martel Temple and search for Colette. She should be there."

"Right! Let's go!"

"Right."

And so, both Lloyd and Raine, who were back together again as a team, went to the back entrance of Iselia and exited Iselia through there. They then walked towards the Martel Temple, where they thought that Colette was being held there.

The Martel Temple was the place where Colette obtained her cruxis crystal there. It was her first task to begin the journey of World Regeneration. Also, it was also the place where Sheena's summoning spirit and partner, Corrine, has took place, reborn as the summon spirit of heart, Verius.

Lloyd and Raine reached to the entrance of the temple. It is most likely that Colette was being held in there with the warriors in black armors. "The Martel Temple... It sure brings back memories..." said Lloyd.

"What it is, Lloyd?" asked Raine.

"This was the first time I went into a dungeon like this. The first time I was protecting Colette from being hurt in there and the first time I met Kratos... My father..."

"Well, it does bring back memories. I had forgotten how beautiful and how ancient this place was." She giggled a bit. "This temple was marvelous. Its structure... Its beauty...! How marvelous!" She began to laugh maniacally.

Lloyd, seeing this kind of action before, sweatdropped. "Oh no... Not Ruin Mode again..."

"The Martel Temple was build for the Goddes Martel herself, and they construct this place so fine...! Those bricks and altar were a thousand years old...! This is fantastic! I can't wait to go inside! Now, if I can just admire its..." However, before she could do so, Lloyd grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to the gate.

"Professor, you need to control your senses! You're acting like a maniac!" he said while pulling her in.

"I'm not a maniac! I'm a researcher! Let go of my arm!" Rained tried to slip her arm off of his hold.

"Not until you stop being a maniac, Professor!"

A few moments later, after pulling Raine into the temple, they were inside of it. The Martel Temple looked exactly as last time they came through here. Same old stairs, same old gate, same old falling bricks... It was the same, really.

"Ok. We're inside of the temple. Now, let's go search around for some clues on where Colette is." said Lloyd.

"Alright. I'll go search for the bottom floor. You go search around the altar, Lloyd." said Raine, who finally got out of her Ruin Mode.

"Right." They then splited up.

They were searching in two seperate places. Raine was looking for some clues in the bottom floor, while Lloyd searched around the altar place.

Raine had look everywhere in the floor. The place where the Sorcerer's Ring was, where treasures were, where monsters were, nothing. No clues were found.

As for Lloyd, he too looked around everything as well in the altar. However, not even a single clue was found on his search. He sighed. "Damn it... It's no good..."

Then, the portal right in front of the altar glew. Raine appeared there, standing on it. "Lloyd, do you have any luck?"

"No... Not even a single one..."

She looked down. "Then... Colette must not be in this temple as well... Have we wasted our time searching around the temple?"

"I don't know... And I can't believe it... I couldn't save Colette... I couldn't save her from those guys... They were too strong... And I was powerless against them... Damn it!" Lloyd slamed his fist on a nearby wall, expressing his anger. "It's all my fault! If I have gotten stronger... Maybe... Maybe I should have save her... But I couldn't... Damn it...!"

Raine walked toward him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Lloyd, don't blame yourself. It is not your fault. They were too strong to beat and no one could stop them. Don't give up hope. There is still a chance to find her."

"But we looked everywhere! Palmacosta, Asgard, Luin, Hima, Meltokio, Sybak, Altamira, everywhere! We can't find her! She's nowhere to be seen!" He slamed his fist on the wall once again. For once in a while, his heart was aching of pain and sadness. Colette was precious to her. With her not around... Who knows what will happen to him? Then, Lloyd slumed down on the ground, gently sobbing from the pain in his heart.

Raine was sadden herself. She knew how much Colette was to him. And they tried their best to look around for her. But not one clue. Not one, single clue is found. "Lloyd..."

However, suddenly, something glew beside them. They both looked to the direction of the light and see the altar glowing. On the center of the altar, a seal appeared, as bright as the sun. "What... What's this?" asked Lloyd, confused.

"I don't know..." said Raine, who was also confused.

Lloyd stood up from the ground and had a determined look on his face. "This must be... where Colette is... Right?"

"I don't know... But let's find out. Come, Lloyd." Raine began to walk to the seal.

Lloyd also walked to the seal. As they both got on it, the seal glew brightly, sending both of them somewhere deeper in the temple.

Somewhere in the deeper parts of the Martel Temple, a portal glew birghtly. And Lloyd and Raine appeared right on it. They both looked around to see what it is. "Where are we...?" asked Lloyd.

"We're still in the Martel Temple... But we never seen this place before."

"I wonder... Could it be that Colette is here?"

"Let's find out. Let's go deeper in this place." She walked out of the portal and searched around the place, going to the deepest part of it.

"Right." Lloyd followed Raine, also searching around the place.

This is the first time they have ever been in this place before. Could it be a really bottom floor? If so, was Colette being held here? The answer lies in the deepest part.

After a while, Lloyd and Raine reached the deepest part of the place. And, unfortunately, it is not what they had thought.

It was another altar in the deepest part. Not a base, not a hidden control room, just an altar. "What...? Another altar...?"

Raine looked down on the floor again. "It looks like... Colette isn't here in this place either..."

"No... After all this time... We've wasted too much time..." Lloyd looked down on the floor as well. "Colette... Where are you...?"

As the two of them were busy, blaming for their wasted time, they suddenly heard a voice. "Do not fear. I may help you with your problems." They both lifted their heads up and looked at the direction of the voice, where the altar is.

The altar glew bright and a creature took its form on it. It is a yellow fox, with nine, multi-colored tails. This form looked familiar to the two travelers.

Then, they finally knew who it is. "Corrine!" Lloyd expressed.

"Please. Call me by my true name. Verius. I am the summon spirit of heart." said Verius.

"Verius... Was it you who called out to us, on the first altar?" asked Raine.

"Yes. I have made you come here so I can help you with the terrible problems that lies inside."

"But how...? How can you be able to sense us?" asked Lloyd.

"Isn't it obvious? Lloyd, your heart has made me notice your presence. I felt that your heart is filled with sadness and pain. You have lost something dear to you, I see."

"It's someone... It's Colette... I lost her two months ago... She was taken by those guys in black armors and I couldn't save her... But tell me, Verius... How can you help us? Is there some way to find Colette?"

"Yes. To find the person precious to you, I will send out my will to go and look for her heart. It should not be too hard to find her."

"You can do that?"

"Yes. Now, wait a moment. I will go and look for her." Just then, Verius glew brightly, as some of his energy was spread out of him. The will took exactly a few minutes before he stopped. "Hm..."

"Did you find her, Verius?" asked Raine.

"Hm... It's just as I feared..."

"What...?" That made Lloyd worried.

"Lloyd, I am sorry... But I'm afraid that Colette is no longer in this world anymore..."

"No longer... In this world...? Then that means...?"

"Colette was not around here after all..." said Raine, who saddened.

"No... We... We all wasted our time... Colette... No..." Lloyd once again slumed down on the ground, saddened that Colette was nowhere in Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.

"However..." said Verius. "I do sensed her heart."

"What...?" Lloyd quickly stood up. "Where? Where is she, Verius?"

"She is no longer in this world... However... She is somewhere else, out of this world... Somewhere far away... It is difficult to tell where she is."

"Out of this world...?"

"You mean... In another world?" asked Raine.

"I do not know. I could not tell where she is. You will have to find out for yourselves."

"I see..."

"Verius..." said Lloyd.

"Yes, Lloyd?"

"Thank you... Now, I'm a lot more confident than ever... I'll find Colette somewhere. I'll find her with my Rheaird. I'll go and look for her somewhere out of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla!"

"It is a pleasure to help. I will encourage you with my heart. And..." Verius suddenly stopped, as his will began to spread out again.

"Verius? What's the matter?" asked Raine.

His will stopped spreading once more. "I feel... Sadness... Terror... Rage... Envy..."

"What?" said Lloyd, getting confused for a sec.

"Lloyd, Raine... Something is terrorizing somewhere... It's terrorizing... Iselia."

"What?! Iselia?!"

"Something has gone terribly wrong in the village... You must go and find out what is happening. Go before it's too late."

"Lloyd, we have to get to Iselia! It could be attacked by someone!" said Raine, who is preparing to leave.

"Right! Let's go!" Lloyd and Raine both ran off from the altar and were on their way to exit the temple.

"Be strong... My human friends..." said Verius, before he disappeared from the altar.

After a long while for trying to get out of here, Lloyd and Raine exited out of the Martel Temple and stopped dead-tracked, when they saw something far away.

"Oh no... Not again..." said Lloyd.

In their view, they saw a large smoke coming out of a village. The village was Iselia. And it is attacked once more, after two months.

"Lloyd... Could it be...?" Raine asked.

"Those bastards... We have to save Iselia!"

Both Lloyd and Raine ran to their hometown, attempt to stop the people who were wrecking havoc in the village,

Once more, Iselia was in flames. The houses were burned down once again. But luckily, the villagers all survived. When Lloyd and Raine reached through the entrance, they saw two groups in the center. One group was the villagers. And the other one was the group familiar to Lloyd.

The group was numerous warriors in black armors. And with them was someone unfamiliar to him. He had a long, blond hair and a pair of grey eyes. He wore a red headband on his forehead, an orange cape, a brown cloak and a majestic outfit. It seemed that he is leading the warriors. "People of Iselia, I have come for you for one request." he said.

The mayor, who was standing in front of the villagers, protested. "What is it that you want?! If you want to kill our people, then I have no intentions to get them killed!"

"I do not want to kill you all. I am Dhaos. I am one of the Dark Raiders' commanding officers. I served for one king who will bring destruction in this world. Lord Chaos."

"Chaos? Who the hell is he?!"

"It's nothing for you to concern. I have come to ask you one thing."

"And what would that be...?"

"I have come for one person. A swordman known as... Lloyd Irving!"

Lloyd suddenly widened his eyes, when his name was called. "What...?"

"Lloyd...? What do you want with Lloyd?!" protested the mayor.

"Lloyd Irving possesed the same energy as Colette Brunel. Our lord wants him. If you value your lives, then tell me where he is." The villagers began to talk about the whole thing, including the one where they want Lloyd. "And if you do not tell us where he is... Then your lives are not for this world."

Not wanting to see any suffering anymore, Lloyd stepped in the two groups. "Lloyd, wait!" yelled Raine.

Lloyd ran in the crowd and stood in front of the villagers, looking at Dhaos with anger. "I'm here! Lloyd Irving! What do you want from me?!"

"Ah... Lloyd Irving..." said Dhaos, with a pleased face. "Our lord wants you, Lloyd. Come with us, if you want to value the lives of your people."

"I'm warning you! If you do anything to hurt my people..." He drew out his swords from his sheaths and got on his fighting stance, facing Dhaos and the warriors. "... I'll have to kick your ass!"

Dhaos chuckled. "Oh Lloyd... So naive... You are endangering your people. If you fight, then we will do something terrible."

"Alright... I'm gonna ask you once question..." Lloyd clenched the hilt of his swords with anger. "... WHERE IS COLETTE?!?!"

Dhaos smirked. "Colette Brunel... Do not worry... She's in a safe hand... for now."

That got him. Lloyd ran up to the group with rage, as he scream with rage. "AAAAHHH!!!"

Seeing that, Dhaos placed his hand on a device that is attached to his right arm, pressing a button. "Lloyd Irving... You and your people will suffer... In the world of Terendos..."

Lloyd jumped off the ground and attempt to slam his swords on Dhaos. "Take this!" However, Dhaos blocked the swords with his right arm, as the device began to went highwired. Then, it glew. "Huh? What the...?" The light grew larger and larger, larger around Iselia. The ominous light engulfed Lloyd, Raine, the villagers, Dhaos and the warriors whole.

After a few minutes, the light fade away. And with the light gone, everyone in Iselia was gone as well. Not a trace of them are found.

What happened to the hero of Symphonia, Lloyd?

**End of chapter**

Ok, done. This is the first chapter of the story. Next up, it's the list of all the Tales characters that are going to be in. It won't be too long. Just tonight.

Well, see ya, everyone! And review, please!


	3. Note 1

Ok, everyone. Here it is. The list of all the Tales characters that are going to be in the story. Not all of them are present, but there are most. At least, that's what I thought. Anyway, the characters will be in three seperate teams. Main team, Support team and VIllain team. Here they are.

Main team

1. Lloyd Irving (Tales of Symphonia)

2. Colette Brunel (Tales of Symphonia)

3. Raine Sage (Tales of Symphonia)

4. Sheena Fujibayashi (Tales of Symphonia)

5. Presea Combatir (Tales of Symphonia)

6. Emil Castagnier (ToS: Dawn of the New World)

7. Marta Lualdi (ToS: Dawn of the New World)

8. Cless Alvein (Tales of Phantasia)

9. Arche Klein (Tales of Phantasia)

10. Chester Barklight (Tales of Phantasia)

11. Farah Oersted (Tales of Eternia)

12. Stahn Aileron (Tales of Destiny)

13. Leon Magnus (Tales of Destiny)

14. Eugene Gallardo (Tales of Rebirth)

15. Guy Cecil (Tales of the Abyss)

16. Anise Tatlin (Tales of the Abyss)

17. Yuri Lowell (Tales of Vesperia)

18. Judith (Tales of Vesperia)

19. Raven (Tales of Vesperia)

20. Kanonno Earhart (Radiant Mythology)

Support team

1. Genis Sage (Tales of Symphonia)

2. Zelos Wilder (Tales of Symphonia)

3. Mint Adenade (Tales of Phantasia)

4. Klarth F. Lester (Tales of Phantasia)

5. Suzu Fujibayashi (Tales of Phantasia)

6. Reid Hershel (Tales of Eternia)

7. Rutee Katrea (Tales of Destiny)

8. Kyle Dunamis (Tales of Destiny 2)

9. Loni Dunamis (Tales of Destiny 2)

10. Reala (Tales of Destiny 2)

11. Veigue Lungberg (Tales of Rebirth)

12. Senel Coolidge (Tales of Legendia)

13. Chloe Valens (Tales of Legendia)

14. Will Raynard (Tales of Legendia)

15. Jay the Unseen (Tales of Legendia)

16. Luke Fon Fabre (Tales of the Abyss)

17. Tear Grants (Tales of the Abyss)

18. Jade Curtiss (Tales of the Abyss)

19. Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear (Tales of the Abyss)

20. Asch (Tales of the Abyss)

21. Estellise (Estelle) Sidos Heurassein (Tales of Vesperia)

Villain team

1. Chaos (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)

2. Dhaos (Tales of Phantasia)

3. Barbatos (Tales of Destiny 2)

4. Elraine (Tales of Destiny 2)

5. Largo (Tales of the Abyss)

6. Legretta (Tales of the Abyss)

7. Arietta (Tales of the Abyss)

8. Dist (Tales of the Abyss)

9. Sync (Tales of the Abyss)

10. Van Grants (Tales of the Abyss)

11. Richter Abend (ToS: Dawn of the New World)

12. Alice (ToS: Dawn of the New World)

13. Decus (ToS: Dawn of the New World)

14. Brute (ToS: Dawn of the New World)

15. Thanatos (Narikiri Dungeon 2)

16. Widdershin (Radiant Mythology)

Well, that's all the characters that I added. There are some votings to do, though. If you guys want me to add more characters in the support team, then I'll go and add the top five characters with the most vosts. If you want me to add more villains, then I'll add some of them. And if you guys are displeased with the main team, then I won't hesitate to ask. Which character would you want me to replace with? And why? I'll decide if I want to replace that character or not.

Before I'm done with all of this, there's something that I want to tell you guys. Well... I don't know much about the characters of some of the Tales series. Eternia, Destiny, Destiny 2, Rebirth, Vesperia... I only know about Symphonia, Phantasia, Legendia and Abyss. If you guys can help me, you can tell me all about the characters you want to tell about.

Ok, now I'm done with all of this. Next chapter, it's chapter 2. See you guys later! And review!


	4. Chapter 2

Hey, everyone. What's up? Well, here's chapter 2 of the story.

... Yeah... I have nothing to say for this chapter. But this is where everything gets interesting. So, here it is. Enjoy.

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**Artes**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tales series.

**Chapter 2:**

**In the world of Terendos**

Last time...

Lloyd, his friends and everyone from Sylvarant were trying to find Colette everywhere in the world. They weren't able to find her at all. She was not somewhere around here.

However, Lloyd found out from the summon spirit of heart, Verius, that Colette is somewhere in another world, out of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. With a lot of confidence, Lloyd was about to search her out of the world.

However, before he could do that, the warriors in back armors were attacking Iselia, leading by a mysterious man named Dhaos. With that, Dhaos took Lloyd, Raine and the villagers somewhere. They all disappeared from the village.

One question remains in our heads...

Where is our hero, Lloyd Irving?

Somewhere else... In a forest deep within...

It was the morning, as the sun shines brightly down the earth. The forest lets out the air from its organs. The forest is the source for all of the living beings to live.

Right under one of the trees, there was someone under there. Unconscious, it seems. It looked like he was under there for the entire day. Then, a small drop of water came up from one of the leaves of the tree, dropping on the man's face. The young man slowly opened his eyes. "Mm... What... what happened...?" He slowly sat up, blinking his eyes.

For those who may know who it was, it was Lloyd Irving himself.

Lloyd suddenly came around here, in the forest for no explicable reason. He looked around him and saw a lot of trees. "What... What am I doing here...? What's going on around here..." After a few minutes of thinking, he suddenly remembered last time. He quickly stood up and looked around again. "Where am I? What am I doing here? Where's everyone? Where's Professor Sage? Where's that Dhaos guy?!" he asked to himself.

With no questions answered, Lloyd ran off in the forest, searching for anyone around here. "Hello?! Is anyone here?!" he cried out to someone. No responces. He kept on running around the forest to search for, at least, one person. He has gone around for 10 minutes straight. "is anyone here?!" he cried out again. Still no responces.

He had no idea where he was. The forest looked unfamiliar to him. He had been in many forests, but this one was unfamiliar. No familial places were known to Lloyd. After running around, with no luck, he stopped running, trying to catch some breath. "Where is everyone...? Where am I...?"

Then, he suddenly heard some ruffling near him. "Huh?" He looked toward the direction of the ruffle, at a bush. "What the heck?" Suddenly, the bush moved, making a ruffling sound. Suspicious, Lloyd decided to see it closely. He slowly moved toward the bush and examined it. "Hm... Is anyone in there?" he asked to the moving bush. When he moved a little closer to it, a boar suddenly came out of it and attacked Lloyd.

"Whoa!" Before it gets a chance to attack him, Lloyd quickly drew out one of his swords and sliced it horizontally, cutting it in two. The two, cutted part of the boar crashed behind Lloyd, on the sides. "Whoa... That was close. It caught me off-guard..."

Then, he heard some more ruffling in another bush. Then another. And another. And another. "Uh oh..." Knowing what was going on, Lloyd drew out his other sword and prepared his fighting stance. "More monsters... Great..." Then, 5 boars came out of the bushes and surrounded Lloyd, facing him with rage. "I don't like the looks of those glares. But I guess they want to fight."

The battle started. One of the boars charged at Lloyd, with its horns ready to stab him. However, Lloyd easily thrusted one of his swords on the boar, killing it easily. "Weak!" Another one of the boars charged at Lloyd as well. But instead, it jumps off the ground and attempt to slam down its horns at him. However, like the first one, Lloyd could easily find the weak spot of the attack. Before the boar could even touch Lloyd, he slashed it vertically, cutting it in half. "Heh! No problem!"

The next thing, all of the three remaining boars attacked Lloyd all together. They all jumped off and dived at him. "You gotta be kidding me!" Lloyd spun himself around, with his swords pointing at the sides. The boars were slash from his swords, and fell on the ground, dead. Lloyd defeated all of the boars without a problem. "Heh! Those boars are no problem at all." Lloyd sheathed his swords back in his sheathes.

However, after doing this, he felt a thumming on the ground. "Huh? What the...?" He felt the thumming getting larger and larger, getting a little closer. When the thumming is getting larger, some of the trees fell of the ground. A monster revealed its appearance. It is a large version of a boar. It growled loudly. "What the...? A mother?"

Another battle started. The mother boar charged at Lloyd, with its horns attempting to stab him deep. Lloyd quickly drew out his swords and blocked the horns from reaching him, stopping the charge. He then pushed the mother off of him and tried to slash it with one of his sword. "Take this!" However, the mother lifted its horns up and blocked the attack. "Damn!" This time, it pushed Lloyd off of it.

Lloyd regained his balance, after backing off a few feet away. "Alright. I guess it's time to use an Arte!" Lloyd backed up one of his sword behind and swung it to the ground, creating a shockwave. "**Demon Fang!**" The Arte moves forward to the boar, attempting to reach it. The mother guarded itself and let the Arte attack it, getting small damage from it. "Hm... No good..." It began to charge at Lloyd once more. Lloyd noticed it and guarded himself with his swords. However, once its horns touched the swords from below, it lifted them up, sending Lloyd flying. "Whoa!" Lloyd was sent up in a few feet away from the mother. This was a great opertunity to attack it directly.

Lloyd turned himself away to the boar and dived down toward it, readying his swords at it. "How about this?!" However, the boar easily dodged Lloyd and he crashed on the ground. "Grr...!" he groaned. He stood up from the ground. "Damn... None of my attackas are working... Maybe an Arcane Arte should do it." Lloyd formed his swords together with each other and moved them up and behind his back, using an Arcane Arte. "**Fierce Demon Fang!**" He slamed his swords on the ground hard.

However, strangely, nothing happened. "Huh...? What the...?" Lloyd was confused. Again, he moved his swords back again and slamed them down again. "**Fierce Demon Fang!**" He cried out the Arte again. However, nothing happened, just like the first time. "What's going on? Why can't I use my Arcane Arte?" Suddenly, the mother ramed on Lloyd, sending him flying back a few feet away. Lloyd groaned in pain of this sudden charge. "Gr... Damn...!"

The mother boar walked toward the fallen swordman. As it stopped close to him, it attempted to do a final attack. It pointed it horns at him, readying to stab him hard. "Grr...!" Lloyd tried to lift his swords up, but it was too hard. He can't get it up, with the damage he took. "What's going on...? Why am I feeling... weak...?" With no question answer, the mother thrusted its horns at him. Lloyd closed his eyes, to prepare for the fatal strike.

Fortunately, a miracle came. Before the horns could reach him, the boar felt a strong slash on it. It felt down on the ground, unconscious. Lloyd, who was preparing for the blow, felt that, after a while, the blow hasn't been made. He slowly opened his eyes and saw someone in front of him. "What...?" He looked up to see that person's head.

That person turned his head to Lloyd. "You alright?" He turned his entire body to Lloyd, making Lloyd to see his full appearance.

The man had a short, blond hair and a pair of blue eyes. He wore a white shirt and an orange jacket over it. He wore brown gloves as well. He also wore a pair of black pants, a pair of brown boots and a green belt, so it could hold his sheath and sword. He wore a green neckband with a pendant attached to it too.

"Who... are you...?" asked Lloyd to the young man.

Before the man could answer, the mother boar slowly got up from the ground, regaining its consciousness. "No time to talk. You know how to fight?" he asked Lloyd.

Lloyd slowly got up, with a little hard work, and readied his swords. "Yeah... I know how to fight."

"Good. Because it looks like you need help with defeating the mother. Now, get ready!" The man got on his fighting stance.

"Right!" Lloyd got on his fighting stance as well.

The battle resumed. The mother charged at the two swordmen. They both jumped out of the attack and were on the sides of the boar each. They both charged at it with their swords ready. But it backed up from them, dodging the charge from both the swordmen. "Hmph... No good. I guess it's time for a little Arte attack." said the man. He moved his sword back and swung it to the ground. "**Demon Fang!**" A shockwave was made. The Arte moved toward the boar. Like last time, the mother guarded itself from the attack, resulting a small damage.

"It's not working! It guarded from that Arte!" said Lloyd.

"Well, time for a little strategy. Listen up. When the mother charges at us again, jump off behind it, alright?"

"What's next?"

"I'm going to use **Demon Fang** at it again. Once it release itself from guarding, go and thrust your sword at it. That should finish the job."

"Ok. Got it."

"Good. Here it comes again!" The mother charged at the swordmen again. This time, Lloyd jumped off the ground and landed behind it. With that, the man used his Arte again. "**Demon Fang!**" The shockwave was made and it moved toward the mother again. Like the first two, it guarded itself from the attack. "Now!"

"Alright!" Seeing the perfect time to strike, Lloyd charged at the boar , moving his sword back. As it released from guarding, he used an Arte. "**Sonic Thrust!**" He thrusted his sword at the mother. The thrust was so powerful that it broke the wind around it. With that, Lloyd was able to stab the mother hard. In result, it fell down on the ground, dead. "Whew... That was close." He pulled his sword from the corpse of the boar, wiping the blood off.

"Hey, that was nice. You're not a novice swordman, are you?" asked the man, sheathing his sword in his sheath.

"No. I'm not a novice. I'm an expert swordman. Although..." Lloyd looked down to his swords. "... I can't seem to use my Arcane Arte... I don't know why I can't use it..."

"Ah. I see. So, this is the first time you came in this world, right?"

"First... time?" Lloyd was confused. What did the man mean by "first time"? "Wait, we're in Sylvarant, right?"

This time, it was the man who got confused. "Sylvarant? What's that?"

"Wait, you don't know what Sylvarant is? Do you live in Sylvarant or Tethe'alla?"

With that, the man knew what Lloyd was talking about. "Ah... Sylvarant is a worl, huh? Your world?"

"Uh... Yeah. What do you mean?"

"Well, hate to break it to you, man, but..." He took a sighed before saying something else. "... You're not in your world anymore."

"Huh? What?"

"I'm afraid that you've been sent to another world."

"Another... world...?"

"Welcome to Terendos. The Ancient World of Mana."

"What...?" Lloyd couldn't believe his ears. Is it really true? Is Lloyd really in another world. Then, he remembered something back in Iselia. "Wait... That guy... Dhaos... Did he sent me into another world...?"

"Dhaos?" said the man. After a while, the name came back to him. "Ah... Dhaos. One of the commanding officers of the Dark Raiders."

"You know him?"

"Yeah. Dhaos was known from the entire world. He's the most fearsome guy the people ever met. And also, I heard that he is the most trusted officers of the Dark Raiders."

"The Dark Raiders... Who are they?"

"I'll tell you. But I won't tell you here. More monsters could find us here, if we stay."

"I see. Well, let's go then. Where do we go?"

"I'll take you to a town nearby. Follow me." The man walked in a random direction. Lloyd followed him.

As the two swordmen walked their way outside of the forest, the man then spoke. "Oh yeah. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Guy Cecil. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Lloyd Irving. Nice to meet you too."

"By the way, you said something about you not doing any Arcane Artes, right?"

"Yeah. I can't use my Arcane Arte. I don't know why I can't use them..."

"That's because, Lloyd, you're not in your level you were before anymore."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, let's see... Back in your world, you learned all of the Artes, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, you see, your level was reverted back to your first level."

"What...?"

"Once you were sent to another world, the world of Terendos, your strenght was reverted. Everything you learned and achieved are all forgotten. You're not the master swordman anymore, Lloyd. You're back into your past state."

"I'm... in my past sate... Level 1...?"

"Yeah. Sorry about the loss. That happened to me too. I lost all of my strenght and Artes that I achieved along the way. And now, I'm trying to regain them while I'm in this world. You should do it too. That's how everyone who are warriors and sorcerers do when they're in this world."

"I see. Well, I guess I have to get moving, huh?"

"Right. Don't worry. It's not too hard to regain your strenght."

"I see."

"Well, anyway, we're close to get out of this forest."

And so, after a long while, Lloyd and Guy were finally out of the forest. They could see the outside of the forest.

Outside, it was a huge landscape. Many green grass were on the ground and a few mountains in some part of the land. And in front of their eyes, they saw a town, just on the center of the land. "See that town over there?" asked Guy.

"Yeah."

"That's where we're going. I'll explain to you all about the Dark Raiders and everything else." Guy began to walk down the road to the town. Lloyd followed him along the way.

To Lloyd, it was a new way to see. He was in another world. Another area. Another land. He didn't know very well in this world. But he was really hoping that Colette would be in this world. If she was, he would be able to go and save her. But Lloyd also knew that he was too weak to go against the Dark Raiders. So, along the way, he'll train to regain all of his strenght and Artes.

After a long while on walking down the road, the swordmen reached the town. They came throught the entrance. To Lloyd's surprise, there were a lot of people in the town. He never seen so many people before. Except for Meltokio. They were all walking around the town, buying stuff, living in and anything else. All of the buildings were all made of solid blocks and wood. It was like living in Middle Age. "Whoa... I never seen so many people before..."

"Yeah, well, the Dark Raiders had been taking people in Terendos more often now. I don't know what they were thinking, though." said Guy.

"What's that town called?"

"It's called Gangur. But we'd like to call it Traverse Town. This is where most of the people who were taken in this world found and lived in there."

"Most?"

"Yeah. I heard that some people were taken somewhere else, other than near Traverse Town. They could be anywhere else. Or worse, near the Dark Raiders' bases."

"Oh yeah. Who are the Dark Raiders, anyway?"

"Oh yeah. The Dark Raiders are a group of soldiers and powerful beings. They were raiding many worlds and take everyone in those worlds in this world, Terendos. We don't know the reason why they took the people to here. And what's more, the Raiders are a fear to everyone around the world. They can summon monsters from one crystal shard."

"Crystal shard?"

"Yeah. They use the shards to summons monsters. Even bigger ones. But it takes a lot of energy to summon a large monster. The crystal shards are called the Auracite. The shards are found from somewhere around the world. The Raiders can easily find them with something, I heard."

"I see."

"Anyway, their leader is a demon called Chaos."

"Who is he?"

"Chaos is the God from hell. We heard that Chaos came in Terendos in search for a powerful crystal. Even powerful than the Auracite. So far, they couldn't find anything that ressembles that."

"What kind of powerful crystal is it?"

"To us, it's called the Manacite. But to most people, they'd like to call it the Hell Crystal."

"Why?"

"Well, it says that the Manacite were made from hell. But it was just a rumor. We don't exactly know for sure. And because of that, I'm on a quest to find the Manacite."

"What good is it?"

"I don't know. That's why I want to examine it closely. I don't know what's it like, so I'll have to find out."

"Ok, now I see what's going. We don't know why the Dark Raiders are taking a lot people in here and we don't know what kind of power is that Manacite, right?"

"That's right. And I'm guessing that the Raiders are trying to find the Manacite for dark reasons."

"Of course. What else were they attacking Iselia..." Lloyd thought about all of this for a while now. Then, he almost forgot about something. "Hey, do you know a person named Colette?"

"Hm?"

"Colette Brunel. Do you know her? She was taken by those Dark Raiders somewhere. I think it's obvious that she's here. Do you know her?"

"Hm... No, sorry. I don't know anything about her."

"Oh... I see..."

"But... I do heard from someone about her. He said that the Dark Raiders captured a blond girl, named Colette."

"R... Really?!" Thet made Lloyd's spirit up high. "Where is she?! Did he said something about her location?!"

"No. He wasn't sure about the location of where she was taken. But we know that she's in one of the Dark Raiders' bases."

"So where are the bases?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're not seriously thinking about going in there, are you?"

"Colette is my friend. And she's precious to me. I gotta go and save her!"

"Lloyd, calm down! You're not strong enough to take on the Raiders. They're too strong for you. Didn't you face them before?"

By hearing this, Lloyd did remember what happened in Iselia two months ago. "Oh yeah... I forgot..."

"Well, you know their strenght. They were too powerful and too much for you to take. Sorry, Lloyd, but there's no way for you to survive."

"But... Colette..." Lloyd looked down on the ground, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Guy placed his hand on Lloyd's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Hey, don't be sad. I'm sure there's some way to save her. Just don't give up hope."

"Yeah... Thanks, Guy..." Lloyd tried to cheer himself up from the sadness. Then, he remembered something. "Professor!"

"Hm? Professor? Who you were talking about?"

"Professor Sage! She must be here in town! She was taken with me in Iselia."

"S... S... She...?" Hearing that word, Guy shivered a little.

"Hm? You ok, Guy?"

"Um... Yeah... I'm... I'm ok. No worries." Guy coughed a little. "Anyway, let's go to the town department. This is where they have a list of all the people who are in the town."

"How can they catch up with a lot of people? There's, like, a thousand of them."

Guy chuckled. "Well, you'll see soon enough. Now, come on. Let's get going." Guy then walked toward to where the department is.

"Right." Lloyd followed him once again.

Upon following him, he looked around to see everything in Traverse Town. He saw that the town has almost everything. They got a lot of stores, a lot of houses and a lot of... Well, something. It was just the same as Meltokio. "Whoa... That's awesome..."

"Yep. Traverse Town is one of the most popular places in Terendos. The good reasons are that everyone can get everything in there. However, the bad reasons are that the town is one of the Raiders' primary targets."

"Ouch."

"So yeah. Traverse Town is the best there is. Nothing bad happens in-" Before he could say anything else, a woman screamed suddenly. The swordmen looked at to where the scream was heard and saw something. "Oh no..."

What they saw is a woman who got her arm hold by a soldier, in silver armors. "Let me go! I didn't do anything! I don't steal anything at all!" said the woman in distress.

"No way! I saw what you did lately! And I'm taking you in!" said the soldier.

"No! Let me go!"

Seeing this, Lloyd decided to step in. "Hey! You!" He walked toward the two people.

"Oh no..." Guy, knowing what will happen if Lloyd steps in, followed him with caution.

Seeing Lloyd, the soldier looked at him. "Huh? What do you want?" he said.

"Let go of that woman. Right now." demanded Lloyd.

"No way. I saw what she did. She was trying to steal something from the Accessory shop! And I'm taking her in!"

"But you have no proof! You could have just at least observe a little more closely!"

"Look, kid! I'm a soldier from the security system of Gangur! So back off!" The soldier was about to proceed on taking the woman to jail.

Lloyd was furious. "Let her go! Or else, I'll kick your ass!" Lloyd was about to draw his swords out, until Guy placed his arms in front of him. "Guy...?!"

Guy smiled. "Don't sweat, Lloyd. I'll handle this." He then looked at the soldier with a serious face. "Hey. Let her go. That's an order."

"An order?! Who the hell might you be, you son of a...?!" yelled the soldier.

"You don't remember me? I am Guy Cecil, of Gangur's main security system unit. And everyone from the security system must take orders from us."

The soldier's eyes widened. "M... M... My apologies, General Cecil." He let go of the woman's arm.

"Good. Thank you. And next time, observe your target before going to take them in jail. That way, you'll be a good soldier, just like everyone else."

"Yes... General Cecil."

"Good. Now, go back to your position."

"Yes, General Cecil!" The soldier ran off somewhere, leaving the three people alone.

The woman looked at the two swordmen with happiness. "Oh thank you! Thank you for saving me!" She looked at Lloyd and gave him a kiss on a cheek.

Lloyd blushed a little. "Um... Uh... I..."

She was about to do the same with Guy, but suddenly... "AAH!!!" Guy suddenly back away from her.

"Huh?" She was confused. She walked a step forward to him, but he backed up one step. She walked another step, but he backed another step. Then another, then another, then another... "Why are you backing away? Are you afraid of me?" she asked Guy.

"Uh... N... No... It's just that... I got this... Well... Disease and I... Well... I..." Guy tried to explain, but it didn't look like he has the courage to say it to a lady.

"Hmph... Fine then. If you don't like me, then I'll just leave. Farewell." She walked away from the swordmen with a humph.

Lloyd looked at Guy with confusion. "Guy, why are you so afraid of her about? She's not dangerous and all."

"Um... Sorry... It's just that..." Guy sighed.

"Yeah?"

"Well... To tell you the truth... I got this phobia. A phobia of girls."

"Phobia? What's a phobia?"

"You don't know what's a phobia?"

"Uh... No. Not really."

"... Who taught you, anyway?"

"Professor Sage."

Guy sighed. "Anyway, a phobia is a fear of some objects or living beings. I had a phobia of girls when I was young."

"What made you have this phobia?"

"That's... Well, I don't want to say it. Personal reasons."

"Oh I see."

"Anyway, let's get to the department."

"Right." And so, the two of them continued to walk to the department. While walking, Lloyd hd something to asked Guy. "Hey, Guy?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"That guy back there... He called you General, right?"

"Yeah?"

"And you said that you're from the main security system, right?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you about that. You see, I was in the security system of Traverse town two months ago. A month later, I was being promoted to the main security system. The system were made to protect the town from Dark Raiders. But unfortunately, only a few of the system, including me, are able to hold them off. We lost a lot of security soldiers since then."

"That's a huge loss."

"It is." They continued to walk to the department, until they stopped in front of a large building. A building this large is sure to be the department. "Well, here we are. The town department. The employees might have your professor on their list. Let's go inside." Guy went to the front door of the department and opened it wide, going inside of it. Lloyd followed.

Inside of the department, there was a room with two people sitting behind a large desk. Behind them, on the wall, was a large board, with numerous of people's names on it. Lloyd stared at the large board. "Wow... That's a big board."

"Well, wait until you see why they got the list of so many people in time." said Guy.

Lloyd observed the board a little more closely. Then, all of the names gone up, removing the one name on top of all. And all the way of the bottom, a new name was made, by magic. Lloyd was very surprised. "Whoa..."

"You see? That's how they got the names on time. It's one of Traverse Town's magics."

"Magics?"

"Traverse Town has a lot of special secrets within. Only us security system soldiers know all of them."

"That's awesome."

Meanwhile, the two people who were behind the desks noticed the new name on the board. "Well, what do you know? Someone came in." said one of them.

"Right after Lloyd Irving. Let's write it down." The other one took a sheet and wrote down the name of the newcomer.

To describe what they looked like, one of them has red hair and yellow eyes. The other has blue hair and green eyes. They wore a plain, old citizen clothes. However, they did have a badge on their shirt. It was a bird with a cross mark on its chest. After writing the name down, they noticed Lloyd and Guy. "Ah! General Guy! It is nice to see you once more!" said the red-head.

"A pleasure to meet you again, General Guy!" said the blue haired man.

Guy chuckled. "Please. Call me by my name. Not my status."

"Of course, Gene... I mean, Guy." said the red-head. Then, he quickly took notice at Lloyd. "Hey, who's that with you?"

"Oh him? That's Lloyd Irving. The newcomer. I took him in the town to show him around."

"Ah, yes! Lloyd Irving! A pleasure to meet you!"

"Me as well, Lloyd Irving!" said the blue haired man.

"Nice to meet you guys too."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Soichi." said the red-head named Soichi.

"I am Gebert." said the blue haired named Gebert.

"Nice to know you. Soichi, Gebert." said Lloyd.

"So, Guy, what brings you in here with him?" asked Soichi.

"Well, Lloyd wants to see if someone he knows is here." answered Guy.

"Is that so? Then who might it be, Lloyd?" asked Gebert.

"I'm looking for Raine Sage. She is my teacher. Did you guys got her name?" Lloyd asked.

"Hm... Let's see... You're new around Terendos, are you?" asked Soichi.

"Yeah. Raine is also new. She and I were sent here by that Dhaos guy."

"Dhaos, huh? He's one of the commanding officers of the Dark Raiders, I tell you.

"Yeah. Guy already explained it to me."

"Anyway, which day did this Raine person came?"

"I don't know. Today or yesterday, I think."

"Hm... Let's see today and yesterday's list." said Gebert. He took a bunch of sheets, with numerous of names written on them. Both Gebert and Soichi looked through all the pages, searching for the name "Raine Sage". After a while, there's no Raine Sage. "Sorry. Raine Sage is not on our list. She must be somewhere else."

"Oh. I see, then. Thanks anyway."

"However..." said Soichi. "... We do have another Sage in here."

"Another... Sage?"

"Yes. Genis Sage. He came in Traverse Town just three days ago. And he's still in here ever since."

"Really? Genis is here?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. I appreciate this." Lloyd turned to Guy. "Guy, we have to go look for Genis. He's my pal."

"Alright. Let's find him. But to find him easily, what does he look like?" asked Guy.

"Genis has long silver hair and a pair of blue eyes. He wears a pale blue shirt, shorts and boots. He can use magic and all."

"Hm... That sounds familiar..."

"What do you mean?"

"I think I saw a short boy a while ago, before I came and saved you."

"Really?!" That made Lloyd surprised. "Where is he now?! Tell me, Guy!"

"I think I saw him going to the plaza, where a large fountain is. I'll take you there if you want."

"Thanks, Guy!"

"No problem. Now come on. I'll take you to the plaza." Guy began to walk toward the front door, about to leave the department. But before he leaves, he turned to the two employees. "Thanks for the help. Lloyd is really happy to find at least one of his friends here."

"It's not a problem. Until we meet again, General Guy." said both Soichi and Gebert at the same time. Guy chuckled and opened the door, leaving the department.

Lloyd followed him. "Thanks for the help, guys!"

"It's not a problem. We'll see you soon, Lloyd Irving."

And then, the two swordmen left the department.

Lloyd found out that Genis Sage, his friend, was here somewhere in Traverse Town. Now, he and Guy were on their way to see him. But one question remains...

What happens next after they see the young Sage? We will find out soon enough.

**End of chapter**

There. Done with that chap. Anyway, Guy is introduced and Genis will appear in the next chapter. Just you wait, everyone.

And before I'm done with this, there's something that I need to tell you guys about. After the next chapter, I'm planning on making a skit chapter for you guys. Chapter 1 to 3. So, there will be a lot of skits in this story. And if you guys want, you can tell me your ideas.

Anyway, see ya later! And review, please!


	5. Chapter 3

Hey, guys. This is the third chapter of the story.

And like last chapter, I got nothing to say for now. But in this chapter, Genis makes his first appearance in the story. Enjoy.

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**Arte**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tales Series.

**Chapter 3:**

**Meeting the chief of the Main Security**

Last time...

Lloyd was sent in the ancient world of Terendos. He had no idea where he is or where the others are. Suddenly, he was attack by a group of boars, and their mother. Oddly, Lloyd can't use his Arcane Arte, **Fierce Demon Fang**, for some reason. Before the mother could get to him, a mysterious swordman, Guy Cecil, saved Lloyd from it. Together, they killed off the mother.

Guy explained everything that has happened, including the ones where Lloyd couldn't use his Arcane Arte. Lloyd understood that he's in another world. It was quite possible that Colette might be in this world as well. However, he was still weak. And he was not as strong as back in Sylvarant. So the only thing he could do is to train to become stronger again.

Lloyd also learned that his friend, Genis Sage, is somewhere in Traverse Town. Guy told him that he saw him down the plaza. And with that, Lloyd and Guy went off to see Genis.

In Traverse Town, somewhere in the plaza...

Around with a few people, there was a small boy sitting on a bench, in front of the large fountain with some sort of Goddess on top. This young boy had long, silver hair and a pair of grey eyes. He wore a sky blue T-shirt, shorts and boots. It seemed that he had a black shirt and pants under them. He also had an orb on his right forehand. He had a boring expression on his face, as he looked at the sky with plain, boring face. "Man... This is boring..."

Then, Lloyd and Guy came in the plaza. They began to look for Lloyd's friend, Genis, around the plaza. That was when Lloyd found a silver haired boy. "Genis!" Lloyd ran toward the boy. "Hey! Genis!" He waved his arm at him.

The young boy, known as Genis, heard someone calling out to him. He looked at the direction of the voice and saw his good, old friend running toward him. "Lloyd!" Genis stood up from the bench and ran toward Lloyd as well.

They both stopped running at each other after they were just two inches away. "Genis, it's good to see you again, buddy!" Lloyd said with a smile.

"Heh! It's good to see you too, Lloyd! it's been, like, four months since we last seen each other!" said Genis, who also smiled.

"Yep! I'm glad you're here now, buddy!"

"Me too!"

The two of them continued to smile at each other. Guy then came in with them. "Well, looks like two friends are reunited after a long time, I see." He smiled.

Genis took the first sight of Guy. "Who are you?"

"I'm Guy Cecil, from the main security system unit. I protect the town from any danger."

"Oh yeah! You're that blond guy who got scare of girls, right?"

Guy sweatdropped. "Uh... You... could say that..."

"So Genis, what brings you in here?" asked Lloyd.

"I... I don't know. I just don't know what happened back in Sylvarant." answered Genis.

"What happened?"

"Well, when I was in Sylvarant, I went to Sybak to search for Colette. But she was nowhere. So I was about to leave Sybak, until I saw some guys in black armors attacking the townspeople."

"Guys in black armors...?"

"Ah... The Dark Raiders. They must have raided Sybak as well in your world." said Guy.

"Dark Raiders?" asked Genis.

"Oh yeah. No one told you about them. Neither are they attacking Traverse Town. The Dark Raiders are a group of soldiers and powerful beings that send people from different worlds in this world, Terendos. They are searching for a crystal called the Manacite."

"Oh I see. But why do they send people in this world?"

"That, I don't know. We'll just have to see for ourselves a little later."

"I see." Genis looked at Lloyd again. "And what brings you here, Lloyd? Were you been send by those guys too?" he asked him.

"Yeah. Not only me, but Professor Sage and the villagers of Iselia too. They sent everyone in this world. And I don't know where they went." said Lloyd

Hearing this, Genis' eyes widened. "RAINE?! Raine was taken in here too?!"

"Yeah. But I don't know where she is. Guy and I both know that she's not in Traverse Town. She must have been in another place."

"Raine... I'm worried about her."

"Don't worry. Professor Sage is strong. She can take care of herself from any monsters."

"You're right, I guess..."

"Hey, wait a minute... Genis, when did you get sent in this world?" asked Guy.

"Um... About two weeks ago, I think."

"And where were you in that time?"

"Hm... I think it was a village called Menosan. It was kinda nice, actually. The village has some scientists in there."

"Oh yeah. I remember that village. This is where the scientists study crystals. Although, they only found some crystals, except for Auracites. The Raiders already found most of them. So, the scientists didn't get their chance to know the secrets of the crystals."

"Oh, I see what you mean. So, the Dark Raiders are, like, crystal hunters or something?"

"You could say that. But they only search for the Auracite and most throughout the search, the Manacite. They haven't found one Manacite."

"Well, now that we talked about crystals, I kinda remembered something. Someone gave me a crystal for a change, befor I left the village." Genis dug his hand in his pocket to go and pull out something. He pulled out some kind of small, saphire crystal. "He didn't tell me why he wanted to give me this crystal."

"Wow. That looks good. It must have been precious, I think." said Lloyd, observing the crystal closely.

To Guy, the crystal looked familiar to him. "Wait a minute..." He looked a little more closely to the crystal. "Hey, Genis, mind if I take the crystal?"

"Um... No, I guess." Genis gave the crystal to Guy. Guy took it and observed it a little more closely.

After that, it hit him. "That's... a shard of the Auracite!"

"Wait, that's an Auracite?"

"Yes. The Auracite is a special crystal that can summon monsters. It takes energy to summon them. But it's rare to have an Auracite from the Raiders." Guy looked at the Auracite a little more. "Genis, do you know who the person is that gave you the Auracite?"

"No. He just gave it to me and left, without telling me who he is."

"Hm..." Guy thought about it for a moment, before he had an idea. "Lloyd, Genis, how about we go to the Main Security System department. We'll meet up with someone who is in charge of the main security and tell him about the whole situation."

"Who is it?" asked Lloyd.

"You'll see."

"Hm... Alright then. I guess let's go meet with the boss of the-" Before Lloyd can say anything else, a loud explosion was heard from far away of the plaza. "What the hell...?" Lloyd, Genis and Guy all noticed a large smoke coming out of somewhere in Traverse Town. "What in the world is going?!"

"Why is there smoke in there?!" said Genis.

"Oh no... Not again!" Guy ran off to where the smoke was occured.

"Hey, wait!" Lloyd followed Guy in the persuit.

"Hey, wait up, you guys!" Genis ran off with them.

As the three people ran to where the smoke was, they all stopped when they see a group of people, familiar to them. "Not them again..." said Guy.

Those group of people, standing outside of a destroyed shop, bursting in flames, were 5 warriors in black armors, also known as the soldiers of the Dark Raiders. However, unlike the last warriors Lloyd and Genis accountered, the warriors wore lighted armors. The armors weren't the same as with the other warriors.

"The Dark Raiders?" asked Lloyd to Guy.

"Yeah. It's them alright."

"But they looked different from before. Why is that?" asked Genis.

"You'll see soon enough. But now, let's kick some ass!" Guy ran toward the warriors in black armors, with his sword drawn in his hand.

Lloyd looked at Genis, as he did the same at Lloyd. They both shrugged and got ready to fight. Lloyd drew out his swords from his sheaths and ran toward the warriors, as Genis pulled out his Kendama and prepared a spell to attack them.

The warriors all noticed them right away and they turned from their primary attack on the shops and ran at the attackers. One of them charged at Guy, with his axe in his hand. Guy saw the weak point and ducked down, when the warrior swung his axe horizontally. He tripped the warrior with his leg, as the warrior fell to the ground. Guy stood up and thrusted his sword on the warrior, killing him. "Heh. This guy is down."

Two warriors charged at Lloyd. They were about to attack Lloyd with their weapon, but he quickly jumped from their attack range. They both looked up and noticed Lloyd getting ready to attack them. "Take this!" Lloyd swung his swords at them, but they both jumped back from his attack. He landed on the ground hard. "Damn it! I missed!" One of the two warriors went behind Lloyd and, with the two of them behind and in front of him, they both charged at him in both ways. "Heh! That's your plan? No problem!" Lloyd found a weak point in their attacks. Before the warrior from behind could reach him, Lloyd quickly thrusted one of his sword back, stabbing the warrior right to the chest. And also, before the warrior in front could reach him, Lloyd used an arte to finish him. "**Sword Rain!**" With his two swords, Lloyd rapidly stabbed the warrior in multiple ways. The warrior fell on the ground, dead. "Hm... Those guys aren't too tough than before..." wondered Lloyd.

Genis was preparing for a spell, to attack the warriors. One of the two remaining warriors charged at him, in attempt to prevent him from using a spell. However, he was too late. Genis already casted a Fonic Arte. "**Wind Blade!**" Numerous of hidden slashes were made on the warrior, giving him several of wounds. He fell on the ground in pain. "Not done yet!" Genis casted another Fonic Arte to end the warrior. "**Fire Ball!**" The fireballs were made and it all charged at the fallen warrior. With the fireballs reaching the warrior, he bursted into flames, crying out of pain. Genis smiled. "You're too weak!"

Watching the battle, the remaining warrior looked at the three fighters with fear. He was trying to get away from them, but Guy quickly went behind him and punched his head, letting him fall to the ground as well. Guy looked at the warrior with a serious face. "Alright, you bastard. Tell me. Tell me why they sent you guys to attack Traverse Town again. Tell me!" said Guy. The warrior remained silent. With that, all of the people all grouped around the fighters. "Tell me now, or else, I'll take you in. And believe me. I will show no mercy."

However, the warrior smiled. "Farewell..." He reached his hand to his right chest armor and flipped it off, revealing a button underneath. He slowly reached to the button.

Guy noticed it and turned to everybody else. "Everyone! Get out of here!"

"Huh?! What the...?!" said Lloyd.

"What's wrong?!" said Genis.

Everyone all got away from the fighters as far as they could. Guy ran to Lloyd and jumped on him, causing them to both fall off away from the warrior. As the warrior pressed the button, he suddenly exploded in 15 meter radius. All that was left in his spot was just a large fire. "What the hell was that?!" yelled Lloyd.

"Suicide. That guy decided to commit suicide, in order for their plans to remain covered." explained Guy.

"That's... that's idiotic."

"I know." Guy got off of Lloyd and they both stood from the ground.

Genis joined the other two. "Why? Why did that guy blew himself up?" he asked.

"That's how it is. When defeated, they just commit suicide for their defeat. This is the way of the Raiders. Commiting suicide after being defeated."

After the fire went down, the crowd all grouped up again around the three fighters. "Hey... It's General Cecil! He saved us from the Dark Raiders again!" said one of the townspeople.

"And with two people as well! Let's thank them for saving us!" said another one of them.

Everyone cheered for Lloyd, Genis and Guy for saving them from the Raiders. Lloyd and Genis never had been cheered before. So all they did was to wave their arms at all of them. Guy already had this kind of thing before and, like Lloyd and Genis, he waved his hand at the crowd. After a lot of waving, Guy stopped and turned to the two friends. "Alright, that's enough of that. We have to get to the Main Security Department."

Lloyd and Genis snapped out from the crowd. "Oh right!" said Lloyd.

"Well, let's go, then!" said Genis.

"Alright." Guy turned to the crowd. "Sorry, everyone, but me and my friends are a little in a hurry. So please, enough with the praises and go back to what you are supposed to do now, ok?" The townspeople all nodded and went back to where they were doing, clearing a path for the three fighters. "Alright, you guys. The department is somewhere located there." He pointed at the direction to where the Main Security Department was for Lloyd and Genis. "I'll lead the way. Follow me." Guy walked off to where the department was. Lloyd and Genis followed him.

It took a few minutes to reach the department. The Main Security department was a long building with a large shield with a cross sign on it. The front door was rather large, as large as a gate. Two guards were guarding the front door. "So this is the Main Security department." said Genis.

"That's right. This is where all of the members of the Main Security are resided. I'm sure the chief of the Main is here."

"But it looks like it's guarded by two guys." said Lloyd, reminding Guy about the two guards.

"No problem." Guy walked toward the two guards, as Lloyd and Genis followed. After reaching them, Guy spoke with them. "Hey, you two. How's the shift doing?"

The two guards stood up in a soldier way. "General Cecil, sir!" spoke the two guards.

"The shift is doing well, General Cecil." said one of them.

"And we are glad to see you here, General Cecil." said the other.

"Alright. I would like to speak with the chief of the Main Security, please." said Guy.

"Of course, General Cecil! enter the department!" The guards pulled their spears, so that Guy can go through the front door. Guy walked to the door. Lloyd and Genis followed, until the two guards pushed their spears back to block the front door. "Halt! You are not allowed to enter the department!"

"What? Wait, you misunderstood." said Lloyd.

"We're with that guy. Honest." said Genis.

"SILENT, TRESPASSERS!!!" yelled the guards. The two friends clogged their ears from the scream.

"Whoa, it's ok, you two! They're with me. It's ok." said Guy.

"Our apologies, General Cecil." The two guards pulled their spears off. Lloyd and Genis went ahead with Guy.

"Wow. Those two are really polite." said Lloyd.

"Maybe a little too polite." said Genis.

Guy chuckled a bit. "You know how they are. They're too polite to do anything."

"True that." said Lloyd.

And so, the three fighters entered the department. Upon entering it, they came across a large room. A large board was place on the wall. And a person was standing facing the board. "Hey, chief. It's General Guy Cecil. I came here for an important request." Guy said to the person.

"Hm? General Cecil?" The person turned around, showing his appearance. This man had brown hair and a pair of black eyes. He wore somekind of orange robe, with a grey crack mark on the center. Oddly, his robe had also a large, blue sky orb. He also wore a pair of black pants, a pair of brown shoes, a brown belt, somekind of crystal-like belt, a crystal-like necklace, a pair of arm warm-ups and a couple of wrist rings. He also wore a pair of glasses on his eyes. "Ah! General Cecil! It is nice to see you again." said the chief of the Main.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Commander Raynard."

"Commander Raynard?" said both Lloyd and Genis at the same time.

"Ah yes. You brung two other people with you. And it looks like they're newcomers. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Will Raynard. The commander of the Main Security System. I control the safety of our people of Gangur. Also known as Traverse Town." introduced the chief, known as Will.

"Please to meet you. My name is Lloyd Irving." introduced Lloyd.

"And I'm Genis Sage. Nice to meet you, commander." introduced Genis.

"Then welcome to Traverse Town, my friends. It is a pleasure to have so many visiters in just one day." said Will.

"Commander Raynard, I would like to ask you one request." said Guy.

"What is it, General Cecil?"

"I would like to bring those two to a village called Menosan. I want to investigate something."

"Ah. The village which the scientists study crystals. And what is the reason for this rquest, General Cecil?"

"This." Guy pulled out the Auracite from his pocket, showing it to Will. "I learned from the young boy right here that someone gave him a crystal like this. By observing closely, I suspected that it is an Auracite."

"Hm..." Will took the Auracite off of Guy's hand and observed it closely. "Hm... Yes, it is indeed an Auracite. That is rare. How could someone found an Auracite that is hard to search for? Usually, the Dark Raiders are able to have the Auracite. I thought for sure that all of them are taken by the Raiders."

"That is why I want to investigate it closely. I need to find the person who gave this young boy the Auracite. He might know as well where the Manacite is."

"Ah... The Hell Crystal. You are still looking for it, I see."

"Yes. I apologized for this, but I must study the Manacite. I want to see what kind of special power it has."

"It is not a problem. Anyway, I will accept the request you asked of me. I hope it is not too late to find that person now."

"I hope so too." Guy turned to the two friends. "Alright, you two. It's time to go to Menosan. We have to find the person who gave you the Auracite. Genis, do you know what he looked like?" he asked Genis.

"Hm... I guess so. Well, he had a short, grey hair, some villager's clothes, green, I think, and he had a pair of elf ears." described Genis.

"An elf?" wondered Lloyd.

"I was wondering about that too. Could he be an elf?"

"Well, at any case, we have to get a move on. That guy might leave the village in a few moments. So let's go." Guy went to the front door, exiting the department.

"Right behind you!" Genis followed Guy, by exiting the place as well.

Lloyd was about to do the same with Genis, until... "Lloyd, wait just a moment." Will called out to him.

Lloyd turned around to face him. "Hm? Something the matter, commander?" he asked.

"Lloyd... Is there... someone that you are looking for?"

"Huh?" Lloyd was confused for just a bit when Will asked him that. "Um... Yeah... How did you know?"

"I looked deep into your eyes and I saw one thing that concerns you. Your friend was held captive?"

"Yeah... By those bastards... The Dark Raiders..." Lloyd tightened his fists with anger just a little.

"Hm... Don't worry. I'm sure that you will save that person. Believe in your heart, Lloyd. And you will save your precious person."

"Commander..."

"I'm not much of a fortune teller, but I'm sure that you will save your precious person. Once you become stronger, you will face the Dark Raiders. In order to do so, you must gather more friends to fight against them."

"Gathering... more friends..."

"Now, go, Lloyd. Your friends await you outside. Don't let them wait for too long."

"Right. Thanks, commander." And with that, Lloyd went to the front door, exiting the department.

After he left, Will smiled to himself. "Hm... Lloyd Irving... If I'm right, he'll eventually save everyone..."

Outside of the department, Guy and Genis waited for Lloyd to come out. Finally, Lloyd came out of the department. "Heh heh... Sorry about that, guys."

"What's up, Lloyd? Is something up in there?" asked Genis.

"It's nothing. Anyway, we have to get going to Menosan, right?"

"Yeah. Menosan is located in the north part, 25 miles away from Traverse Town. It's close on the mountains, to be precise." explained Guy.

"Alright! Then let's go to Menosan!"

"Yeah!" said Genis.

"Alright!" said Guy.

The three fighters went off, going to where Menosan is located. They will have to find the person who gave Genis the Auracite and ask him everything he knew about the Manacite and where it was. Could the three heroes be able to find that person?

The adventure of Lloyd and his friends begins in another time.

**End of chapter**

Alright, done. I'm done with the third chapter. I hope you gusy like it. And also, in the next chapter, there's gonna be some skits for it. So, be sure to catch up with it.

See ya, guys! And review, please!


	6. Skit 1

Yo guys! What's up! Ok, this is the first chapter of the skit series. Like in the Tales games, skits will show some personalities of all the characters, some humorous conversations and some information in the conversation. So, here it is. My first skit chapter.

However, I'm not pretty good at making so much skits. So, if you guys want, you can tell me your ideas for the skits in each chapter that I will post next. So, be sure to give me as much as you can, ok?

Now, enjoy the first skit chapter!

**Chapter 1**

**Meeting each other again**

Occured: After Raine joined Lloyd's team.

Characters: Lloyd, **Raine**

"It's been a long time since we travelled together, huh, Professor?"

**"Yes, it seems so. I rarely see you and Colette anywhere on Sylvarant and Tethe'alla for four months. How was your journey?"**

"It's been fine. Colette and I went to a lot of exciting places. We had a lot of fun together while we were at it."

**"I see. It must have been interesting"**

"What about you, Professor? Did you and Genis have done something nice?"

**"Not... exactly..." (sweatdrop)**

"What's the matter?"

**"We've been in some places... But mostly, we've took a boat for our journey. And yet, I am not enjoying this at all..."**

"Oh yeah! I remember! You are always afraid of the-!"

**"SAY IT AGAIN OR ELSE, IT'LL BE FIFTY HOMEWORKS EACH MONTH!"**

"Yes, Professor..."

**Finding Colette**

Occured: A little while after Raine joined Lloyd's team

Characters: Lloyd, **Raine**

"Colette... Where are you...?"

**"Lloyd, are you alright?"**

"Yeah... I'm just worried about Colette... I need to save her quick. Or else, she'll end up being an angel corpse by now..."

**"Lloyd, don't worry too much. Colette is stronger than you think. She'll handle things by herself. If there's trouble, Colette will surely survive that. So please, don't worry too much about her."**

"Yeah... Yeah, you're right. Colette is an angel. She can handle anything right now. So now, we have to find her as soon as possible."

**"That's better. Now, let's continue on to the Martel Temple, alright?"**

"Yeah. Let's go... Colette... I'll rescue you no matter what."

**Forgetting homework?**

Occured: After the skit "Meeting each other again" after a while.

Characters: Lloyd, **Raine**

**"Wait a second... That reminds me of something."**

"What is it, Professor?"

**"I just remembered that I gave you some homework before you go to your journey with Colette. Have you done your homework yet?"**

"Uh... Um... That... That's pretty obvious... I... I... Oh come on, Professor! I'm a hero of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla now! I don't have to do homework! that wouldn't be right for a hero like me!"

**"Not when you're still a student. Lloyd, you should know that homework is an important thing to become smart. Didn't Kratos teach you that at least before he left the planet?"**

"But dad only taught me sword fighting! And I'm really good at it! There's no need for you to give me homework to do! Heck, even Kratos doesn't need any homework!"

**"Then Kratos must do some homework as well! I'm going to find him no matter what and give him work!"**

"That... would be impossible, Professor..." (sweatdropped)

**Secret Passage**

Occured: After Lloyd entered the secret passage in the Martel Temple.

Characters: Lloyd, **Raine**

"Wow. I never thought that the temple had a secret passage in the altar."

**"Me neither. After all the journey we had, we never have been in that passage before. This is amazing."**

"I wonder... What made the altar to open a portal for us? What caused the altar to make it?"

**"I don't know. But that is out of importance. What is important is... how marvelous this passage is...!"**

"... Uh oh..."

**(Giggled) "Such amazing structure... Such fabulous way... This must be the work of Cruxis...! They made a secret passage just as marvelous as this...! I can't believe my eyes...! I wonder what's deep inside of it... I wonder what sort of magic it is...! I must... I must look even further! Oh, how MARVELOUS!!!"**

"... Ok... I'm gonna start moving away from you, Professor..."

**Return of the warriors in black armors?**

Occured: After Lloyd and Raine saw Iselia under attack.

Characters: Lloyd, **Raine**

"Damn it... After two months, Iselia is attacked again? By who...?"

**"Could it be the warriors that everyone was talking about? The warriors in black armors?"**

"If it's them alright... Then they'll pay for kidnapping Colette. I'll make them regret what they did to her! I won't stop until I save Colette!"

**"Lloyd, don't be so careless. Remember the last time you fought them? They were too strong. You won't be able to fight them all with your current level."**

"I know, I know! But still, they'll pay for that! I won't forgive those guys... I won't let them get away with this!"

**"Lloyd..."**

"This time, I'll stop those guys once and for all!"

**Chapter 2**

**Where am I?**

Occured: After Lloyd is in the forest of Terendos

Characters: Lloyd

"Where am I? Where's Professor Sage? And the others? And what happened to that Dhaos guy? And what's with that weird device on his arm? Man... I just don't get it... Suddenly, I'm in a forest for some reason. And oddly, that forest looks unfamiliar unlike the other forests I've been... What the hell is going on?"

**Enter the amazing Guy!**

Occured: After defeating the mother boar and that Guy joined Lloyd's team

Characters: Lloyd, **Guy**

"In another world... In another place...? This isn't my home world...?"

**"What's the matter?"**

"Nothing. It's just... It's just that I can't believe that I'm in another world. A world unfamiliar to me... This isn't Sylvarant or Tethe'alla... It's a whole, new world to me..."

**"Yeah. I had the same reaction as you. When I first came in Terendos, I thought for sure that I'm somewhere in Auldrant, my home world. But someone told me that I'm not in Auldrant, but in Terendos. I was surprise back then."**

"I see. Well, looks like you and me are trapped in here, huh?"

**"Not just the two of us. The others around the world are stuck in here too."**

"Who's been causing this? Why are we stuck in this world?

**"I'll tell you all about it soon, when we get to a nearby town. But for now, it's about time for me to shout out my big entrance to you."**

"Since when?"

**"Since I saved you from that beast."**

"Um... Alright, then?"

**"Enter the amazing Guy!"**

**Heroic speech**

Occured: After Lloyd got out of the forest.

Characters: Lloyd, **Guy**

"So this is Terendos... Wow... This sure looks good. I wonder... I wonder if Colette is somewhere in this world. If she is... I have to find her. No matter what. I won't let those warriors in black armors get the best of me! I'll take them down no matter what! Just watch me, you bastards!"

**"Lloyd, hate to break it to you, but you do remember that you're back to level 1, right? There's no chance for you to go against some strong monsters for now."**

"Oh... Right..." (sigh) "There goes my heroic speech..."

**Guy's information**

Occured: After Lloyd entered Traverse Town

Characters: Lloyd, **Guy**

"Wow, Guy. You sure know a lot about Traverse Town, the Dark Raiders and the crystals. Is that what happens if you stay in Terendos for a long time?"

**"Well, more or less. I know a lot about other stuff, like towns, villages, bases... Some other stuff. There are a lot of people I know around here too."**

"Who were they, Guy?"

**"Just some guys that I met. Nothing more than that. To some people, I'm like a swordman with a genius mind."**

"Hm... Is that so? Do you know something about expheres from some people?"

**"Expheres? Hm... Can't say I'm aware of that. I guess that expheres are in your world, right, Lloyd? I bet it's something valuable or something."**

"Actually... One time, it is. But most of the time... It's chaos. I found out that expheres were made from people's lives... Their lives are in the expheres... Some group of villains used humans for their insane experiments. And... the exphere I have on my left hand... It was my mom's life... They used her for a hign level experiment... They called it the Angelus Project. And with that, I won't forgive what those guys did to my mother."

**"I see. I understand that expheres are terrible spheres. And they must be destroyed."**

"Yeah. Before I came in Terendos, I was on a journey to destroy the expheres for good."

**"Hm... Yes, I see. Well, thanks to the information about the expheres you talked about, I understand a little about your world. I bet it's something fantastic."**

"Well, you can say that... Well, to me, I guess."

**General Guy Cecil**

Occured: After Lloyd and Guy saved the woman.

Characters: Lloyd, **Guy**

"Wow, Guy! I never knew that you're a general! How did you get that title?"

**"Let's begin with the start. When I first came in Traverse Town, I noticed that the town is under attack by the Dark Raiders. I helped out and defeated those guys. Later on, they attacked again. And this time, they were a little stronger than before. And the soldiers of the Security System tried to hold them down, but failed. So I had to go and stop them. And I did. With that, the chief of the Main Security System wanted me to become one of the system. So, after stopping the Raiders for a month, the chief promoted me to the Main System, as a general. Now, I'm taking care of everything in Traverse Town."**

"Wow... Being a general is so cool..."

**"Not really. Most of the time, the chief and the other guys above me ordered me to take care of some pets, cleaning the floors, find some food for the town and whatnot. So, it's not actually cool to be a general."**

"Oh... So... it's less than cool?"

**"You can say that."**

**Phobia**

Occured: After Lloyd and Guy saved the woman.

Characters: Lloyd, **Guy**

"A phobia of girls... That's rare."

**"Yeah. I had this kind of phobia when I was a kid. And to me, it looks like I'm the only guy who had this kind of phobia."**

"Yeah. It's really rare for someone to be scared of girls. I know a friend of mine who is attracted to girls, unlike you."

**"Who's that guy?"**

"His name is Zelos Wilder. He's Tethe'alla's Chosen of Regeneration. And he's more like a... pimp or something. Every girls are so attracted to him and he could even marry a lot of girls. So, he's a good friend, actually."

**(Shudders) "I'm glad I'm not a friend of his. Or else, I'll end up being surround by a chunk of girls..."**

"Well, at any case, good luck taking care of yourself with that phobia of yours, Guy."

**"Thanks... Hm... If only... If only Duke Fabre hadn't kill my sister... Maybe none of this would happen... And I wouldn't have that phobia..."**

"What do you say?"

**"Nothing. Let's get moving."**

**Secret of Traverse Town**

Occured: After Lloyd visited the town department

Characters: Lloyd, **Guy**

"So this is one of Traverse Town's secrets... A mana showing people's names... I wonder what other secrets it'll show next..."

**"You'll see soon enough. There are a lot of secrets that the town will show soon. So, you won't wait for a long time for it to come."**

"Can you tell me one of the secrets?"

**"Sorry, but no. I can't. I'll break the Main Security System's rules. And I don't want to waste my time getting trap in a punishment."**

"Oh come on! Please!"

**"Alright, alright, fine. Don't tell anyone else about it. Especially one of the soldiers."**

"Don't worry. I won't."

**"Alright. One of the town's other secrets are... that if you try and do something bad to a girl... Even the slightest bit of pain and sadness... The System will surely find you, and take you in. After that, you will be severely punished in many ways. They can whipped you, they can abuse you, they can EVEN screw you!"**

"Ok, ok! I don't want to hear it anymore! I'm out of here!" (Leaves)

**(Laughed) "Man, oh man. I knew that lie would work against him."**

**Genis**

Occured: After Lloyd visited the town department.

Characters: Lloyd, **Guy**

**"Hey, Lloyd?"**

"Yeah, what is it, Guy?"

**"You and that Genis kid are friends in a long time, right?"**

"Yeah. You want to learn more about Genis?"

**"Yeah. I want to know more about him before I get a chance to meet him."**

"Well, Genis is a half-elf, alright? And he's a sorceror. He can do a lot of magics. He even learned a high-level Fonic Arte. But the truth is... He was discriminated by humans and elves, even his big sister, Professor Sage. I don't know why, but I think half-elves are evil. Desians and Mithos were half-elves too. And all of them are trying to destroy my world. Because of that, Genis and Professor Sage were trying to get away from them. But now, they were on a journey to end this discrimination once and for all."

**"I see. It looks like the little kid had a harsh life, huh?"**

"Yeah... I'm afraid so..."

**"But it looks like you made him happy. He has a good friend like you none the less. And with you on his side, I'm sure that he will feel much better around you."**

"Yeah... I suppose so. Well, we'll have to go and find Genis. I'm sure he's waiting for me."

**"Yeah. Let's get going."**

**Sudden Attack**

Occured: After Genis joined the party

Characters: Lloyd, **Genis**, _Guy_

"What the hell is going on? Who in the world would start a fire?"

_"It could be the Dark Raiders. From time to time, they're attacking Traverse Town a lot. The town is one of their primary targets. And I hate their taste of decisions."_

**"Who in hell's name are those guys? I mean, I understand that they're the bad guys for us, but what's their true purpose?"**

_"I don't know. They never show or tell us the real reason why they're attacking. Is it because Traverse Town is a popular town? Or is it because it has an important mana inside? We'll never know for sure."_

"If it's the Dark Raiders, then let's kick their ass! I've been waiting for this for two months!"

**"Yeah! Those guys will pay attacking Sybak!"**

_"Then let's not waste anymore time. Let's go!"_

**Fate**

Occured: After the party defeated the warriors in black armors

Characters: Lloyd, **Genis**, _Guy_

**"That warrior... Why did he commit such terrible thing?"**

_"You mean the suicide action he made? That's the Dark Raiders' rules. When defeated, the warriors had no other choice, but to kill themselves. That's their rule of defeat. And I assure you, it's not a good thing to do."_

"Man, those guys were insane. How could they thought that suicide is the right thing to do? The Dark Raiders are terrible."

**"They had a life in the future. And they chose to sacrifice their life without any regrets. How awful is that?"**

_"They were joyful people once before. But their leader, Chaos, took that joy away from them. And they lived in despair."_

"That Chaos guy... I won't forgive what he had done with those people. He won't get away from this."

**"Yeah. He won't."**

_"Then it's time to become stronger and defeat that demon from this chaos."_

**End of skit chapter**

Well, guys, here it is. The first skit chapter. I hope you guys are enjoying this. And remember. If you want to add something for the future skits, then tell me. Here or in next chapter, if you want.

But unfortunately for you all, this story is on hold for now. I have to work on my other stories, since they've been on hold for a heck of a long time. So, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Thanks.

See ya guys later! And review, please! I need your support!


	7. Chapter 4

Hey, people. It's me. Anomynous Nin again. And I'm here to update my story again.

Well, I said that I was going to update my old stories... But... I kinda lost inspiration of them. So, I'm putting them on hold again, until I find some inspiration for them. In the mean time, I guess all I can do is to write some chapter for Tales of the World: Ancient World to get my inspiration back.

Well, anyway, here's chapter 4. The fourth chapter of the story. Enjoy.

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**Arte name**

Disclaimer: I repeat, I do not own the Tales series.

**Chapter 4:**

**Menosan**

Last time...

Lloyd and his buddy, Genis, have reunited after several of months. And Guy learned that Genis holds the shard of the Auracite. It was given by an elf from Menosan. So then, they went to the Main Security system department, where they met Will Raynard, the commander of the Main security. They have given permission to go to Menosan as requested. Now, they're on their way to Menosan.

Right now, Lloyd, Genis and Guy went outside of Traverse Town and to the fields. Menosan isn't too far from Traverse Town. It's only a few miles away. And it is near the mountain side. This should be easy to find for our heroes.

But right about half way there, Guy stops suddenly. "Menosan... Haven't been in there for a long time." he said.

Lloyd and Genis soon stop, looking back at Guy. "What is it, Guy? Something's on your mind?" asked Lloyd.

"Yeah. It's been a long time since I've been to Menosan. The village was peaceful by then. It's kinda hard to know that the Dark Raiders have been attacking this peaceful town for many reasons."

"Of course they attacked it for some reason. It's what they always do, right?" asked Genis.

"Yeah. I guess so." Guy thought about something for a quick minute. Then, he decided to tell the two friends about something he have thought about. "Hey, Lloyd, Genis. How about I tell you something more about Menosan?"

"Huh?" Lloyd was confused about what Guy said to them, but decided to accept it. "Sure. Of course you can tell us something."

"Yeah. I want to know more about Menosan too." said Genis, joining in the conversation.

"Alright then. But first, let's sit somewhere. You guys got your legs tire out?" Guy asked.

"My legs are fine. But sitting somewhere would be nice for a change." said Lloyd.

"Yeah. It's been, like, an hour since we've walked to Menosan." said Genis.

"Ok. Let's sit somewhere nice." Guy continued to walk around, with Lloyd and Genis following him. After a few seconds, he gently sat down, with his right knee up and his left leg behind the right one. Lloyd sat down, with his right knee up and his left knee down on the ground. Genis sat down with both of his knees up. "Alright. It's time to explain more about Menosan. Do you guys know something about it?"

"Hm... It's a place where creepy scientists came from?" said Lloyd, trying to know what he learned about it.

Guy chuckled at Lloyd's comment. "Yeah, there are scientists. But they're not creepy. At least, for most of them." He turns to Genis. "How about you, Genis?"

"It's a village where scientists are. They research crystals they found somewhere around the world. There are many crystals of different kind and color." explained Genis, on what he learned so far.

"That's right. And do you know the origin of the village?"

"Hm... I don't think so..." said Lloyd.

"A little, but I haven't really know much about Menosan's origin..." said Genis.

"Well, that's what I'm going to tell you guys about." said Guy. "There was once a great scientist known as Geraldo. He researched crystals of many kinds and colors. He was rather famous to everyone for his research on crystals. Many had follow his ways. Then, they decided to build up a village in honor of Geraldo. Menosan. They began researching crystals as well, like him."

"I see. That Geraldo guy sure sounds like he's the number one scientist in the world." said Genis, understanding the history.

"Argh... I only catch some of it..." whispered Lloyd to himself, not understanding the history, unlike Genis.

"However, one day, the village was attacked by the Dark Raiders. They were looking for Geraldo to kill him off the face of the world. Many villagers protected Geraldo. And many were either injured or killed. Geraldo was able to find a way out of the Dark Raiders' clutches. But he was soon stopped and killed by one of the Dark Raiders' commanding officer."

Lloyd, who understood most on the history, said something. "Dhaos?"

"No. It's another one of the officers. A woman named Elraine. She is one of the most trustworthy officers of the Dark Raiders. However, from what the others have heard, Chaos doubted Elraine's loyalty. We don't know why he doubted her."

"I see. So, Chaos must have felt something within Elraine." said Genis.

"Exactly. Anyway, back to the history. Elraine killed Geraldo and brung Menosan into flames. The people who survived the Dark Raiders' wrath all got away safely. But they didn't gave up Geraldo's legacy. They rebuilded Menosan and continued their life in there, as villagers and researchers, in honor of Geraldo."

"Guy, can I ask you something?" asked Lloyd.

"Sure, Lloyd. What is it?"

"Well, from what you've said, the Dark Raiders have so many strong officers?"

"Yep. However, half by half, they're in a different category. You see, in the Dark Raiders categories, there are 6 categories. Those categories are... Well... Let's just say that it's a chess game, ok?"

"Chess games? What's that?" asked Lloyd, dumbfound on what Chess is.

"Lloyd, don't you know Chess? It's one of the famous games from Sylvarant. Heck, even Iselia got that game! Geez, have you been paying attention to anything at all?" said Genis, rubbing his temples.

"Well, excuse me, Genis. I was too busy doing fights and all. Don't you know what I was doing back in Sylvarant?"

"Yeah, yeah. Practicing sword fighting. I know." Genis said. But in his mind... _'Yeah, right. If I didn't know any better, you were being dumb around interesting stuff.' _

"Ok, you guys. Stop complaining each other and let me tell you the categories." said Guy, stopping the two friends' complains. "Anyway, imagine that you're playing a game of chess. There are 6 types of pieces you have to play. Pawn, Rookie, Knight, Bishop, Queen and King. The Dark Raiders have the same categories as in the chess game. Out of all of them, pawns are the lowest warriors of the group. In other words, minions. And the King is the most strongest one of all the group. In other words, it's Chaos."

"Oh! I get it! So the pieces, the King to Pawn, are from strongests to weakest?" said Lloyd.

"You got it. And that's not all. There are different warriors in each categories. The pawns are the warriors in lighted armors. In other words, the warriors we faced back in Traverse Town. The Rookies are the warriors in different armors from the Pawns. The warriors you guys faced before back in Sylvarant. The Knights are generals of the group. The Bishops are the officers of the group. Like Dhaos and Elraine. The Queen is, out of all the previous pieces, the strongest. And the King is the lord of all of the group. Chaos."

"I get it. Each of the categories has each a different power level. Just like in the Chess game." said Genis.

"I think I understand a little." said Lloyd.

"Good. I guess that's enough information for today. You guys ready to go to Menosan now?" said Guy, as he stood up from the ground.

Lloyd stood up as well. "Yeah. I'm ready now."

Genis also stood up. "Uh huh. Let's go to Menosan."

Guy smiled. "Good. Now, we're just half way there. So, let's keep up the pace." He resumed walking down the path to Menosan, as with Lloyd and Genis.

It's not very long to reach Menosan. Everyone were able to reach from Traverse Town to Menosan in no time. From time to time, Menosan was declared as one of Traverse Town's friendly ally.

After a long walk to Menosan, they have reached the village without any problem. Lloyd took a first look on the village.

Menosan is a village filled with scientists and such. And many small, wooded houses lied on the grounds. And on the center of the village, is a statue of a large crystal, in honor of Geraldo and his research on crystals. Out of all the wooded houses, there was only one of them who was not made of wood. A large building made of bricks. The board standing on the ground entitled "The Science Research Academy".

"Wow! So this is Menosan, huh? It's as large as Iselia." said Lloyd.

"Yep. Home of many scientists. Like I said, they research crystals in here. So, it's not hard to look for them." said Guy.

"Well, we gotta look for the elf who gave me that Auracite. He might be anywhere from here." said Genis.

"Genis is right. Let's start by asking people about where he is now. Let's get moving." said Lloyd.

"Right. If you guys find any clue, tell me." said Guy.

"Gotcha." said Genis.

"Good. Now let's get going." With that, the three heroes went to a seperate way each. Lloyd searched for the elf in where the ctystal statue is. He even asked the villagers about where he was. Genis went around the village to ask the people if they know who was the elf. Guy was merely looking around the village to find the elf. So far, the heroes haven't found a clue on where he was. They all regouped back together to where they first spread out. "Do you guys have any clue on where he is?" Guy asked.

"No, nothing. The villagers said that they had no idea who he is." said Lloyd.

"I tried to ask the villagers about him, but they don't know who he is and where he went." said Genis.

"So far, we haven't found a single clue on the elf's whereabouts. Where could the elf be?" wondered Guy.

The heroes began to concentrate on where they should go next. As soon as they started to concentrate, someone said something. "Did you say the elf?" The heroes heard it and turned to the person who said it.

It was a person with short, black shaded hair, blue eyes, black shirt, brown pants and a scientist's jacket. It was the person who came out of the Science Research Academy.

"Well, yeah. We did say elf. Do you know who he is?" asked Lloyd.

"Fortunately, yes, I have. But..." The scientist looked around himself, seeing as there are many people around them. "I rather not say it here. Come with me in the Academy. I will tell you in here." The scientist walked to the Academy, entering it.

The heroes all looked each other out of curiosity. "Well, you heard what he said. Let's go inside." said Guy. And so, the three heroes walked to the academy and entered it.

Upon entering it, they came in to see many, many crystals in many, many tubes. Many crystals in different kind and color. Many crystals who are found by the scientists along the way. Lloyd and Genis were both surprised about how many crystals they were.

"Holy cow! How many crystals are there?!" exclaimed Lloyd.

"I think over 20 of them. I mean, look at all of them! So many different kinds! How the heck they found those crystals?!"

While Lloyd and Genis exclaimed on the amout of crystals there are, one of them is acting pretty different. "Oh wow! I can't believe it! I can get to see all the crystals I haven't seen!" yelled out the happy Guy.

Lloyd and Genis, who both stopped complaining, looked at guy with a hint of surprise. "... Guy?" they both said at the same time.

"This is amazing! So many crystals in one village, so little time! I can get to see all of them in just one hour! Oh, I can't wait!" Guy began to look around the room with crystals and checks them out with many emotions exploring inside. "These crystals are fantastic! They worked in a different way from one another. How amazing on how the instrustures are made. These are the crystals made by the people from the ancient times long ago!"

While Guy looked around and talks about the crystals a lot, Lloyd and Genis just stared at him. "... Genis..." said Lloyd.

"Yes, Lloyd...?"

"Is that... What I think it is...?"

"You mean... Ruin Mode...?"

"Yeah..."

"I think that's what it is..."

"I see..."

After a while of talking about crystals, Guy looked back at Lloyd and Genis. "Lloyd! Genis! Come here for a sec! I want to show you guys the crystals they got!" After he said that, Guy took a quick notice at the crystal in the ver center of the room. A large, orange crystal floating inside of a large tube, with the wires attached to it around the room. "Oh, how awesome! This is the source of the academy! The Magicite!"

"Magicite?" asked Lloyd.

"It's the source of all the energy coming from the towns and villages! Almost all of the habitant areas have them! I haven't seen a Magicite for a long time! It's so sweet to see its structure again!"

"Um... Guy, can I ask you something?" asked Genis.

"Yes, what is it, Genis? I'm in a hurry! I need to look around the Magicite as close as I can!"

"Um... Sorry if that sounds insulting, but... Are you a maniac for ancient objects and structures?"

Hearing that, Guy froze for a sec. Then, he turned around to the two friends and laughes nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Um... Sorry about that. I'm a little... well, a researcher myself. I'm kinda like a sucker for ancient objects, you know?"

"Well, the way you acted, you acted a little just like Professor Sage." said Lloyd.

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

"Professor Sage acted the very same way like you did. She goes all crazy when it comes from ancient artifacts and stuff. We liked to call it Ruin Mode."

"Raine gets all crazy and violent, of course. Once her Ruin Mode activated, no one was able to stop her from going totally out of control." continued Genis.

"Ah. So she has the taste for ancient objects, huh?" Guy slightly smiled.

"Well, you can say that, I guess."

"It looks like she's just like me... Except for the violent part. That's not part of me, that's for sure."

"You and the Professor both shared a lot in common. She's crazy for ancient artifacts, so are you." said Lloyd.

"Well, sure we shared a lot in common, but I know we got some of them who are different from one another."

"Well, I can count on that."

While the heroes talked together about many things, the scientist who made them come inside of the academy just stood here, besides a door that leads to the science lab. "Um... Hate to interrupt, but are you guys finish yet?" he asked.

The heroes all heard it and turned to the scientist. "Oh! Sorry about that! Just a friendly talk and all." apologized Guy.

"Sorry about that." apologized Lloyd.

"Me too." said Genis.

"Good. Now, would you please come inside? I will tell you everything in there." The scientist opened the door to the lab, motion the heroes to come in. With the scientist and the heroes going inside the lab, he slowly closed the door behind him. The lab was empty. And only Lloyd, Genis, Guy and the scientist are inside. "There. Now no one will hear what I have to say about the elf."

"What's wrong? You seem like you don't want to let anyone hear something from you." asked Guy.

"You see... There has been a little change for a while now. And I want to say it in privacy because I don't want anyone to know that I'm talking about the elf you guys spoke of."

"You know that elf?" asked Genis.

"Yes. He was my friend. And was once a villager... Well, not anymore. He's not an outsider."

"What happened to that guy?" asked Lloyd.

"Well... First, I need to introduce myself. I am Gerald. I am a scientist of the academy. The elf is named Heimal. We were friends once before... Until... Something unexpected happened in the village. And my friend caused it."

"What did he do?" asked Guy.

"My friend suddenly attacked a few villagers. He nearly killed them, until we stopped him from doing so. We had no idea what happened to him when that happened. Strangely, the mayor of the village knows what happened. But he never tells us anything concerning that."

"So basically, he was exiled from the village?" asked Genis.

"Yes. That's what the mayor declared. I haven't seen him once after that incident. I guess he's gone for good."

"But Heimal came back in Menosan. He even gave me a crystal."

Hearing this, Gerald's eyes widened. "What?! He came back?! How?! Didn't anyone notice him coming by?!"

"It seems like he was passing by quickly and gave Genis the Auracite. I guess he must have to give the Auracite to someone as a present of some sort." said Guy/

"An Auracite...? Wait, you mean the crystal that can summon monsters?"

"Yeah. I can show it to you if you want." Genis dug something from the inside of his pocket and pulled out the shard of the Auracite from it. "This is the Auracite. Heimal must have found it before the Dark Raiders have a chance to find it."

"So that's the Auracite..." Gerald took the Auracite off of Genis' hand and examined it closely. "Amazing... So this is a present from Heimal... He must have wanted to be forgiven for the crime he caused... This is rare indeed. Really rare. Heimal..." But, suddenly, when he continued to examine it, a surge was felt, as Gerald yelped out of pain, letting the Auracite fall from his hand.

Seeing that, Lloyd, Genis and Guy were all surprised. Guy went beside Gerald. "Gerald! Are you alright?!"

"Aah...! Yeah... I think so..." Gerald said. "But... This feeling... What kind of feeling is this...?"

Genis picked up the Auracite which was fallen from Gerald's hand. "What feeling, Gerald?" he asked.

"I... I don't know... But... This feeling... It feels so... dark... Like... the darkness is surging inside..."

"What? A dark feeling?" said Lloyd.

"Yes... As if when I- ..." Before Gerald could say anymore, an explosion was heard outside. The four people were taken back by the explosion.

"What the...?! What the hell is that?!" yelled out Lloyd.

"I don't know! It's coming from outside!" said Genis.

"Guys, we better check it out! Maybe there's trouble nearby!" said Guy. "Gerald! You take care of yourself, ok? We'll take care of the situation at hand."

"Alright... Don't worry about me..." said Gerald.

"Alright, guys! Let's go!" said Lloyd.

Lloyd, Genis and Guy ran off outside of the academy, to see what caused the explosion. Who might it be?

Trouble is coming as near as possible within the heroes. Will they face trouble once more?

**End of chapter**

Ok, I'm done with the fourth chapter. I gotta say, it's more... informatique than... Well, you know what. I'll bring up the next chapter soon. So stay tune for more chapters.

See you guys later! And review, please!


	8. Chapter 5

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**Arte**

**Chapter 5:**

**Goros, the Knight General**

Last time...

Lloyd, Genis and Guy reached Menosan in search for the elf who gave Genis the Auracite. Within their search for him, they met a scientist named Gerald, a friend of the elf named Heimal. The heroes learned that Heimal was once a villager, until he suddenly attacked the villagers, nearly killing them. He was banished from the village since then. They did not know why Heimal came back in the village, unsuspected.

Soon then, the heroes decided to show Gerald the shard of the Auracite, giving to by Heimal. As Gerald started to observe the shard, holding it with his hand, he suddenly felt a shocking surge through his arm, forcing to let go of the shard. He described the surge as something dark. Before the heroes could know what made him feel that dark energy, an explosion was occured outside of the academy. So, the heroes ran off outside to see what was going terribly wrong.

Upon going outside of the academy, the heroes stopped dead-track at the scene in front of them, making a soft gasp. "No... Not again!" shouted Lloyd.

It was the warriors in lighted, black armors. The pawn warriors, as what Guy explained to them. Along with them were a few warriors in different armors. The Rookie warriors. The ones where Lloyd and Genis fought back in Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. It seemed that the Dark Raiders were attacking Menosan, fearing the villagers and destroying a few of its residence.

"Alright, you filthy rats!" shouted one of the Pawn warriors. "Which one of you has a shard of the Auracite! Our Lord Chaos wants you to be taken in!"

Genis slightly looked at the shard in his hand. "But... But how did they knew about...?" he started to ask.

"Tch...! Just as I thought...!" said Guy, biting his lower lip a little. "They were using some kind of device to easily found the Auracite without any difficulty. So that's one of the reasons why it's so hard for us to find them from the Dark Raiders..."

Lloyd, unable to bear against the scene in front of him, decided the only choice they had in option. "We can't just stay here and do nothing! We gotta save the villagers!"

Genis nodded in agreement. "Lloyd's right! We can't let them destroy the village, like what happened a long time ago..." he said, remembering the story that Guy told them about on Menosan, a long time ago.

Guy nodded, as he drew out his sword in hand. "Ok, guys! Let's give them a beating that they'll never forget!" he shouted, as he charged at the Dark Raiders. Lloyd and Genis followed him, with their swords and Kendama in hands.

The warriors all noticed the three heroes charging at them. "Wait... That man..." said one of the Rookie warriors, noticing Guy charging at them. "So... This must be the Main Security System Unit of Traverse Town..." Smiling at the heroes, he took his focus on them, lifting his arm up, signaling all the warriors to turn on them. "Everyone... Destroy those fools!" The Pawn warriors answered by charging at the heroes, in the exact same response, while the rest of the Rookie warriors stood there, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Like the last battle, the warriors, a total of 10, took on the heroes seperately. Lloyd faced against four of them and Genis and Guy faced three of them each. In Lloyd's battle against them, one of the warriors charged at him. Lloyd easily founded a weak point and dodged at the side, slashing the warrior's back in an counterattack, as he fell to the ground. The two others charged at the same time, but this time, one of them jumped from the ground and attempted to strike Lloyd down from the sky, while the one on the ground attempted to make a distraction for the air-born warrior. Lloyd founded a flaw in their plan and blocked both of their attacks, both on the ground and the sky. Lloyd pushed the one in the sky off with his blocking sword and pushed the other on the ground as well, slashing him in the process. He then charged at the warrior in the sky, when he landed on the ground. "Take this! **Tiger Blade!**" When Lloyd was at the close range of the warrior, he uppercutted him with his sword, sending him flying up. He jumped from the ground and slashed him horizontally, before striking him back to the ground with a hard downward slash. He landed on the ground, after defeating the warrior.

He turned to the last warrior remaining in his side. "Heh! What's wrong? You scared to fight me?" taunted Lloyd.

"Grr...!" growled the last warrior. He let his hand out in front of him and a ball of energy was formed in front of his hand. "Scare this, you insolent fool!" The ball of energy eventually turned into a beam, that shot straight at Lloyd.

"Holy cow!" yelled Lloyd, as he quickly placed his swords in from of him, attempting to block the beam. The beam hitted his swords in a blocking stance, but it managed to pushed Lloyd away in a few feet. As the beam stopped, Lloyd changed the stance of his swords back from defence to offense, after having a few small damage from the sudden push. "Whew... That was close. But too bad that won't stop me!" He grinned, as he charged at the warrior with his swords ready.

The warrior cursed under his breath. "Damn it...! Come on, you stupid, slow beam...! Recharge!" he shouted, as he looked at his beam-fired hand, waiting for it to recharge for another blast. But it was far too late, as Lloyd reached the warrior and ended him with a quick slash. "Aaargh...!! Lord Chaos...!!" he said his final words, before falling to the ground.

Lloyd smiled, as he hold out a peace sign with his hand. "Heh heh! Not so tough now, are ya?"

Meanwhile, in Genis' side, the warriors patiently waited for a good moment to strike at, what they thought, the defenceless mage. Genis looked around himself at the warriors and smirked. "Don't underestimate me, you amatures! I'm not some normal kid, you thought!" Genis shouted at them, as he started to cast a spell. It was the right moment for all three warriors to attack, charging at him in full speed. However, they were too slow, as Genis finished casting the spell. "**Turbulence!**" he shouted, as a gust of wind appeared below his feet. Just as the warriors reached him, the wind enlarged up high, knocking the warriors in the air. Genis smirked once more, as he casted yet another spell. "**Fireball!**" Three balls of fire appeared and flew straight at the warriors individually, burning them in the fiery depths of hell. "Hah hah! Don't mess with me, just because I'm a kid!"

Meanwhile, in Guy's side, he was surrounded by three warriors, like Genis. One warrior charged at him with a sword in hand. As he reached Guy, he swung his sword horizontally, but Guy managed to jumped off the ground to avoid the attack. He landed behind the warrior and slashed him on the back, making him fall to the ground. "Hmph... Who's next?" taunted Guy to the two remained warriors. One of them let out his hand and a beam was shot out of it, shooting straight at Guy. Guy made no worries for that attack, however, as he moved his sword in front of him, blocking the beam with it. He was been pushed back a little, but no serious damage was made. "Not for long!" Guy swung his sword to the ground and formed a powerful shockwave, which was going straight to the warrior who attacked him. "**Demon Fang!**" he shouted. Since the arte was slow, the warrior dodged to the side and ran up to Guy, attempting to attack him head-on. However, as he reached to him, Guy quickly went behind him, before the warrior could get him. "How about this! **Crescent Strike!**" He slashed the warrior upwards, forming a moon on on him. Then, he slashed him downwards and cutted the moon off in half, killing the warrior with it. "Hmph... Is that the best you can do?" he said, smiling.

The last warrior was too scared to stand up against Guy. So, instead of fighting him, he ran back to the Rookie warriors. "Please! Let me live! I don't want to die at the hands of these guys! They're too strong! Please, let me out of this infernal battle!"

One of the Rookie warriors looked down at the Pawn warrior. "... Your wish is at our command..." He answered. But instead of letting him free, the Rookie warrior punched him to the side of his head, as he flew straight to a wooden wall, unconscious. "... You are a disgrace of our lord..." He looked back at the three heroes, giving them a look of interest. "Interesting... You three have fought well against the Pawns..."

The three heroes looked at the five Rookie warriors, readying themselves against them. "Oh yeah? Well, get a piece of us now, you bastards!" shouted Lloyd.

One of the Rookies began to walk up to them, but the other one stopped him from doing so. "... There is no need to attack them..." he said, chuckling slightly. "... The General is here..."

Guy raised an eyebrow, hearing what the Rookie warrior said. "... General...?"

All five warriors stepped back to the side, revealing one person behind them. The person stepped in on the battlefield, revealing himself to the heroes. "Hm... This is impressive... So you must be the three heroes from Traverse Town, whom I heard of recently..." The man let out a soft chuckle.

This man wore a green general shirt and a pair of green pants. He had a half black, half white hair, with a small ponytail on the back of it, a mustache that went down along his cheeks and a pair of black eyes. Guy remembered that man before. "You... You must be...?"

The man smirked. "Ah... General Cecil... A pleasure to have met you once more... And yes... I am Goros. One of the Knight Generals of the Dark Raiders!" introduced the man, named Goros, to the heroes. "And I have heard that you three are responsible of stopping the attack on Traverse Town... I expected nothing less to General Cecil. But you two..." He looked at Lloyd and Genis. "... You two are almost at the same level as General Cecil... How interesting..." He cackled suddenly. "Hah hah! How laughable! You two were only on Terendos for a short while and already, you are capable to stand up against the Pawns! I'm impressed. But not as impressed as defeating me."

Lloyd growled in anger. "Who ask you?!" he shouted.

"Who ask me...? What a foolish question... I have no need to ask you any further of this, pathetic fools."

Guy took a step in, looking at Goros with a slight glare. "Goros... Tell me... Why are the Dark Raiders trying to get the Auracite for? What is their true purpose in them?! What do they want with the crystals...?"

Goros smirked in amusement. "Guy, so curious for all of this... But unfortunately, I have nothing to tell you about. There is no reason to tell you about all of this for now..."

Guy gritted his teeth. "Why you...!"

"Heh! Well now... Do you three have a chance to defeat me? A General of the Dark Raiders? You have no chance against me. You three are merely at a level of a Pawn."

"What did you just say?!" yelled Genis, as he clenched his kendama and gritted his teeth in anger. "If you try and taunt us one more time, you'll be sorry that you'll ever mess with us, you son of a...!"

"Hmph... I have no time to play with you fools..." Goros said, as he turned around from the heroes. He was about to leave, until a small hint went into his mind. "... So... You have the shard of the Auracite..."

Genis widened his eyes, as he looked down to the shard in his hand. "... Yeah... So...?"

Goros turned back to the heroes, with a devious smile. "... I want the shard. Hand it over and you and that village will be safe from harm..."

Lloyd flinched at what Goros said. "Safe... from harm...? What the hell are you talking about?! From what I know, you and your goddamn army attacked my home world! OUR home world! And you think that we should listen to you so you could leave Menosan alone?! From what I know, you're just going to destroy it even if we're giving this to you!"

Goros could only smirked at Lloyd's comment, thinking of how feeble it was. "How inferior... An inferior being trying to save this village... How pitiful..." He chuckled a little. "If you wish... to save this village from the Dark Raiders, such as us..." He stretched out his arm to the side, opening his hand up. Then, suddenly, in a blink of an eye, some kind of ray gun appeared in his hand. "... Then allow me to introduce you to... death..." With this sentence, he charged up the gun and pointed at the three heroes.

Guy suspected it and looked at Lloyd and Genis with warning. "Lloyd! Genis! Be careful! His ray gun could severely damage you! Avoid its attack as soon as possible!" With a quick nod from both the heroes of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, Guy began to charge up to Goros, redying his sword.

"Hah hah!" cackled Goros. "Always so persistant, General Cecil! But now, it's time to be shot down!" He fired his gun at Guy, as a ray beam came out of it, flying straight at Guy.

Guy managed to dodge the ray in a quick speed and jumped from the ground and into the air, attempting to strike Goros from the air. However, he wasn't that fast enough to get to him. Goros lifted his gun up at Guy and shot a ray beam at him, which got him to the pulp. "Urgh...!!" Guy groaned, as he fell from the sky and into the ground, with the damage he had from the ray beam.

"Guy!" yelled out Lloyd, as he charged into Goros after Guy got hurt.

"Lloyd, wait up!" shouted Genis. Seeing that there was no other way to get Lloyd to stop, he had no choice but to fight as well. "I'll back you up, Lloyd! Be careful!" he said, as he began to cast a spell.

Lloyd continued to charge at Goros. Just only half way there, Goros shot a beam at Lloyd, which he dodged quickly. "Hmph! You think you can stop me? Think again, fool!" Goros said, as he shot another beam at Lloyd. He dodged the other beam and reached Goros, attempting to strike him with one of his sword. However, Goros blocked the attack of Lloyd's sword with his gun. "Hehe! Think again, fool!"

"What...?! Damn, that thing is as hard as a rock!" Lloyd shouted, seeing that his sword couldn't cut the gun in two. He tried to slash Goros in another way with his other sword, as the first one was blocked by Goros' only weapon.

Goros smirked, however, as the gun splitted in two, with the second half blocking Lloyd's other sword. "Hah! Not expecting it, do you?"

"What?! It splitted in two?! But how?!" shouted out Lloyd.

Goros managed to push one of his gun off of Lloyd's sword, making Lloyd to back off a little. He aimed both of his guns at Lloyd. "Say farewell!" he shouted, as his guns shot out multiple of ray at Lloyd.

Lloyd groaned in pain, as the ray beams hitted him in many ways. After the beams stopped firing, he fell to the ground, unable to withstand the pain that he received. "Urgh...! Damn it...! My body...!"

"Lloyd!" shouted Genis, as he was about to cast a spell on Goros. "You'll pay for that, you bastard! **Stalagmite!**" Even living a few days in Terendos, Genis managed to learn one of his mid-spells.

The ground below of Goros began to form a large crack around him. Sensing something that would come out of the ground, Goros could simply smirk. "A mid-spell? Get serious." Assembling his two guns together to form a single one, he jumped out of the ground before the large, earth spike pillar came out below of him. He aimed at the pillar and shot a few times at it, making it break into hundreds of rocks, from small to large.

Genis was shocked, as the pillar broke into small to large rocks. "That gun...! What kind of gun is that...?!" he said. Before he could react, Goros grabbed one of the large rocks that flew up to the sky with him and threw it at Genis. Genis noticed it quick late and tried to defend himself, by moving his arms in front of him, forming a guard. But as it hitted him, Genis was sent back a few feet away on the ground. "Aarrgh...!!" he groaned in pain.

Goros landed on the ground after his attack on Genis. He looked around himself and could only see the fear of the villagers and the defeat of the heroes. "Heh heh heh... Like I said... You fools are only in a level of a Pawn. There is no possibility for you to defeat me, even with all of your efforts!" He began to cackle evilly at the defeat of the heroes. Then, he noticed Guy standing up from the ground, holding his side with his hand. It didn't look like he was in a good shape. "General Cecil... Fighting back so soon?"

Guy could only pant, as the pain overtook his body and was able to stand up, even in this condition. "Grr... No... I can't give up yet...!" he said.

"Hmph..." Goros could only think feeble of Guy, as he aimed his gun at Guy. "You shouldn't have gone against me, General. It will be the death of you, if you continue to resist." As he said that, he shot his gun at Guy, which the ray hitted him on the head. Guy was thrown back from the blast to his head, as he fell to the ground backwards. "Why do they even called you "General"? You're not even close to a Rookie level. I guess that must be how all great heroes from different worlds ended up becoming weak all so suddenly..." He walked towards the fallen General of Traverse Town. "Look at you... You are the quickest swordman from your world, from what I heard. Now, you're becoming a weak warrior with feeble skills."

Guy lifted his head up at Goros, with some efforts. "Ngh...! Why...? Why are you... Why are the Dark Raiders doing this...?!"

As Goros stood close to Guy, he aimed his gun at him. "Why? Why, you said? That's a laugh... It was our decision to bring havoc in this pathetic world... Once we find the Manacite..."

Guy flinched, as he heard the name "Manacite" from Goros. "... Why are you searching for it...? What is special about the Manacite...? What are you going to do with them...?"

"That is none of your concern, Guy." He said, as he fired his gun at Guy. Guy groaned in pain from the blast. "We have our own ways. And we cannot let anyone stand in our way..." He shot Guy with his gun several of times, cackling all this time just by shooting him while he was down.

Guy could only yelled out in pain from the multiple of blast from the gun. As the firing stopped for now, he looked up to Goros in a painful expression. "... Urgh...! Goros... Tell me...! Tell me, or else...!"

"Or else, what?" Goros responded with another shot, making Guy groan once more.

Lloyd was listening the conversation, while he was down. He couldn't bear another pain coming from Guy. He tried to lift himself up from the ground, with all of his efforts that was left inside of him. "No...! Guy...!"

"Guy... My dear, Guy... You shouldn't be curious of our plans... It's none of your concern... And to make sure that you will shut up from speaking of it..." Goros aimed the gun at Guy's head, readying for a headshot. "... I will put you out of this life... Forever..." Guy tried to move himself out of the gun's view, but with no luck. He was lying still on the ground, without any energy left. "Good bye... General Guy Cecil..." Goros was about to pull the trigger of his gun...

... Until...

An arrow flew straight at him. He noticed it and tried to dodge it, but it nicked his shoulder straight. He let out s small groan of pain. "Grr...! What...?! What is this foolishness...?!" He looked up to the direction of where the arrow flew and, by his surprise, saw someone up on a roof of a house. "What?!"

It was a man, with long, pale blue hair, with a ponytail attached on the back, and a pair of blue eyes. He wore a blue, judo top and a pair of pale brown pants. He also wore a pair of brown boots and brown gloves. He also got an arrow carrier hanging around him to his back. He was seen holding a bow in his hand, as he had shot an arrow at Goros. "Don't you try and kill anyone." he said.

"Grr...! Who do you think you are?!" shouted Goros.

"Who I am? My name is Chester. Chester Barklight. And I am here to stop your terrorism right here, Knight General of the Dark Raiders!" said the man, named Chester.

"Hmph... Do you think a little scratch from the shoulder can stop me?! You have to do better than that to be able to defeat me!" Goros then lifted his gun up and aimed at Chester. "You can say bye bye to your infamous attack!" However, unsuspected to Goros, a slash on the back was made, as he groaned out of pain and kneeled down on the ground. "Aaargh!! W... What?!" He turned his head and saw Lloyd, who was clearly standing up and had his swords in hand, panting out of efforts. "You...!"

Lloyd was heavily panting from the damage he took from the blast of the gun. But he still managed to get up with all of his might. "Heh... Take that..." He slowly smiled.

"Grr...! You...!" Goros tried to stand up, so he could attack Lloyd, but the blow on his back was fatal. He could not stand up in this kind of condition. "Damn it...! How could I have been so... distracted...?!"

The two Rookie warriors ran toward Goros, giving him some assistance. "General Goros!" shouted one of the warriors. "You are injured... Let us take you to safety..."

"It is too dangerous for you to move on... Let us get out of here as soon as possible..."

With the condition that he was in, he had no other choice. "Very well, then..." He looked at the rest of the Rookie warriors. "You three! Take care of the rest! Kill everyone in sight!"

"Yes, General..." answered the three remaining warriors.

Goros looked back at Lloyd. "Hm... That appearance... So... You must be... Lloyd Irving..."

Lloyd widened his eyes, when he heard of his name from him. "How... How did you know my name...?"

"Heh heh heh... You are one of the three heroes that must be destroyed at all cost... You and Colette Brunel will suffer..."

Lloyd widened his eyes even more, at hearing Colette's name. "Colette?! You know where she is?! Tell me! Tell me where Colette is!"

Goros cackled. "I have no reason to tell you about Colette's whereabouts... All I care is that you two will die... Once and for all..." With a wicked smile, Goros and the two warrios disappeared from sight.

"Hey! Come back here and tell me!" shouted Lloyd. But it was too late. Goros was already gone. Gritting his teeth and slammed his fist into the ground, he yelled out of frustration. "AAAARRRGGHH!!! DAMN IT!!!" Once again, Lloyd couldn't learn where Colette was. "Colette... Where are you...?"

While he ignored everything around him, because of not gaining the information on Colette's whereabouts, one of the warriors crepted behind him, an attempted to slay him to the ground. However, an arrow was shot towards him. He noticed it and backed away from the arrow's range, as it struck the ground. "Hey! You there!" Chester shouted out to Lloyd. Lloyd looked up to Chester. "Don't just sit here! Fight!" Thanks to Chester, Lloyd snapped out of his depression and stood from the ground, with some efforts. With his sword ready, he faced the three Rookie warriors.

"Tch...! Alright...! There's no time to sulk around... I gotta fight for this village!" said Lloyd, as he got on his fighting stance.

At the same time, Chester jumped from the roof and landed next to Lloyd. "Hey, you ok? You looked beat up." asked Chester.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. Don't worry about me. I can handle things as long as possible."

Chester smiled in encouragement. "If you say so... But..." He pulled out a red gel from his pocket, as he handed to Lloyd. "Take this."

"Wait... Isn't that...?" Lloyd wondered, as Chester handed him the gel.

"That's right. It's an apple gel. Eat it up and you'll be back in full strenght."

"Uh..." Lloyd looked at Chester for the moment, then nodded. "Alright. If it takes the strenght to get back on my feet." He took the apple gel in his mouth and swallowed it, feeling the energy restoring in his body. It is healed, slightly. "Alright! I'm ready!"

"Good. Cause here they come!" Chester shouted, as the warriors charged at them. One of them slammed his sword at Lloyd and Chester, which they easily avoided it, by going to the sides. The two others ran toward the two heroes seperately. On Chester's side, the warrior prepared his hand in a beam shot, as it fired a beam at Chester. Chester jumped from the ground, avoiding the beam, and grabbed an arrow from the carrier and placed it on the bow, stretching the string with it. "Here! Have some of this! **Hell Pyre!**" He shot off the arrow at the warrior, which turned into a fire shot. The warrior quickly took notice of it and blocked the Arte with his sword. But just as he blocked it, Chester was already gone. Searching around himself for Chester, he didn't notice that Chester was just above him, preparing for another arrow shot. "Hey Up here!" Chester shouted. The warrior looked up above him, but it was too late, when Chester shot another arrow at him. "**Gale Shot!**" Following the first arrow, he shot several more of them following the other. As the warrior looked up, he was struck on the shoulder by the first arrow. And eventually, got struck by most of them. And the final arrow struck his head, making him fall down on the ground, dead. Chester landed on the ground next to him. "That takes care of that."

Meanwhile, with Lloyd, he was blocking the attacks that the warrior made against him. He had to find a way to get an opening shot and bring an end to that battle aginst the warrior. As the warrior made yet another attempting slash at Lloyd, which he blocked it, Lloyd pushed the warrior off of him and charged up to slash him afterwards. However, the warrior managed to block the attack right after getting pushed back. Lloyd cursed under his breath and jumped back a couple of feet away. The warrior stretched out his hand at Lloyd and an energy is formed on it. "That attack... Uh oh!" Remembering that sort of attack, he ran to the side to avoid the attack range. A large beam was fired and the warrior turned toward Lloyd's direction to catch him in the beam blast. However, the amount of time of the beam was fired had been depleted, as the beam stopped firing. "Now it's my chance!" Lloyd turned towards the warrior and charged up to him. Then, he jumped and spinned himself around vertically. "**Tempest!**" Using an Arte, the spinning attack Lloyd made charged up to the warrior, slashing it multiple of times. The warrior then fell to the ground dead, after the attack was done. Lloyd landed on the ground with a smile. "Is that the best you can do?!"

After the two heroes managed to defeat the Rookie warriors, only one left standing. They turned to the last remaining warrior. With a quick nod from Chester, signaling for an attack, Lloyd charged up to the warrior, as Chester shot an arrow at him. As the arrow came first, the warrior blocked it, followed by another block from Lloyd's attack, in a quick speed. "Hm...! Lloyd Irving... You have gotten clever...!"

Lloyd smirked. "Heh heh... And you have gotten sloppier! Chester! Now!" Lloyd signaled to Chester for another attack. Chester nodded and he shot off another arrow at the warrior. The warrior turned around and blocked the arrow just in time. But huge mistake. Lloyd managed to thrust his sword into the warrior.

"Argh...! Aaargh...! Lord... Chaos...!" said the dying warrior, as he fell to the ground.

Lloyd pulled his sword from the warrior and smiled. "You picked the wrong guy to mess with."

Chester sighed of relieve, as wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his arm. "Hmph... Those guys sure are tough. Not to mention that they're Rookie warriors of the Dark Raiders."

Lloyd looked at Chester, as he sheathed his swords back inside of his sheath. "Hey... Who are you, anyway?" he asked.

"Oh? Who me? My name is Chester. Pleased to meet you." Chester introduced himself, as he handed out his hand to Lloyd.

Lloyd gladly grabbed it and shook it a little. "I'm Lloyd Irving. Pleased to meet you too." Chester nodded. Right after they shook hands, Lloyd realized a certain something. "Oh no! Guy! Genis!" He ran toward the fallen General of Traverse Town and kneeled down beside him. "Hey! Guy! Can you here me?! Guy!" Guy's eyes were closed. The brutal damage and the exhaustion from the fight worn him out.

Chester walked up to the two of them and saw the condition that Guy was in. "Oh boy... He doesn't look very good... Hm..." He dug something inside of his pocket and pulled out another red gel. The same gel that he handed to Lloyd. "Here. Take this apple gel. Shove it in his mouth and he'll recover slightly." he said, handing Lloyd the gel.

Lloyd nodded, as he took the gel from Chester and placed it inside of Guy's mouth. "Come on, Guy. Eat this. This will heal you, probably..." After he put the gel in Guy's mouth, Guy started to munch down the gel and swallowed it, with some efforts on doing so. After a few seconds, he slowly opened his eyes. "Guy! You're alright!"

"Huh...? Lloyd...?" said Guy, as he looked aroun with his eyes. "... Goros... Where is he...?"

"Goros retreated, Guy. But you're safe. That's a good thing, right?"

Guy slowly smiled a little. He couldn't smile even more, because of the pain and exhaustion that he had. The onyl thing that he could do was nodding. "Yeah... That's a good thing... Really..."

"Good." Lloyd nodded. "Now, let's go get Genis. He must be badly hurt as well." he said, as he stood up from the ground.

"There is no need for that." The three conscious heroes heard someone. They turned to the direction of the voice and saw a man with gray hair and green cloak, holding Genis in his arms. "I already have the little boy in care. There is no need to waste gels, when you can rest for the day."

"Hey, who are you?" asked Chester.

"I am the mayor of the village, Menosan. I am Rekos. And I saw what you all did, in the battle against the Dark Raiders. We thank you for protecting us."

Lloyd showed off his goofy smile and scratched the back of his head. "Heh heh! It's not a problem! We always protect people from danger!"

Rekos nodded. "Allow me. I want you all to come with me in my house. There is something that I like to explain all of you about."

"Explain to us? Of what?" asked Chester.

"You'll see. Now, follow me." Rekos said, as he walked away from the three heroes and went to the direction of his home.

Lloyd and Chester looked at each other, thinking of if it's a good idea to follow him. Then, they looked down to Guy, who tried to stand up from the ground, but with no success. "Ngh... Let's... Let's go follow that guy... He might help us with something... You know...?" Guy said.

Lloyd and Chester nodded, as they helped Guy out to stand up, by lifting each of his arms around them. Then, the three heroes walked off to follow the mayor.

What does the mayor want with them? What is the explanation? What could it be?

**End of chapter**

Yo, guys! It's me! Anomynous Nin! And I'm back from the long days of hard working school! Now then... Uh... Well, I got nothing to say, so... Uh... Well, there's only one thing to say about.

I'm planning on putting Luke in the main team. But I don't know if it's alright. What do you guys think? Should I put Lloyd in the main team for the rest of the journey? And also, the second chapter of the skits will be set up soon. So stay tune for more of the story.

Well, see ya! And review, please!


	9. Chapter 6

"Speaking"

_'Thought'_

**Arte**

Disclaimer: I do not own them... I just write them.

**Chapter 6:**

**Secret of the Auracite and the Knight of Ratatosk**

Last time...

Menosan was ambushed by the Dark Raiders, both the Pawns and Rookies. Our heroes went on ahead of the Raiders and destroyed half of their numbers. However, they soon met one of the Knight Generals of the Raiders. Goros. Goros easily outmatched our three heroes and was going to kill Guy with one, final shot. However, someone stopped him from doing so.

Chester Barklight. An archer with good hawkeye sharp shooter. He, along with Lloyd, wounded Goros and he could not continue on the attack on Menosan. So, he left with the two other Rookie warriors back from the battle. Chester and Lloyd defeated the three remained Rookie warriors somehow. As they were about to treat Guy and Genis, they met the mayor of the village. Rekos. The mayor wanted the heroes to come with him for something. What was he wanted to talk about?

Times have passed... And slowly, the young half-elf opened his eyes, after he went unconscious. His eyes saw a wooden roof, upon opening them. Genis turned his head around, to the right. Nothing. Then, to his left, he saw Lloyd, kneeling beside him, Guy and the other person who seemed unfamiliar to him. "Huh...?" Genis said. "Where... am I.. Lloyd...?"

"Genis! You're awake!" said Lloyd cheerfully, overjoyed that Genis was awake and fully recovered from the intense damage he took from the rock throw.

Guy smiled, relieved that Genis got his consciousness back. "Genis, you're in the mayor's house. He took you in and healed you. You looked badly hurt from the attack Goros used on you."

"Goros...?" stated Genis. "Where is he...?"

"Goros retreated. Lloyd was able to wound him down, along with Chester here." said Guy, as he showed Genis the mysterious, pale blue-haired man.

Chester nodded at Genis, showing a sign that he was friendly. "Hey. My name is Chester Barklight. I came just in time before the Knight General was able to take you all down."

"I see." Genis said, nodding in understanding. He smiled at the archer. "Thanks, Chester."

Rekos, who was just standing behind the heroes, coughed a little for their attention. They finally turned to the mayor and he smiled. "Alright. Since the young boy is awake, let me explain about why I have called you all here. It is about... Well..."

"About...?" repeated Guy, wanting to make sure what it was all about. Before Rekos started to explain, a knock came from the door. "Hm? Who is it?"

"Ah... He got here just in time..." said the mayor, as he walked toward the front door and opened it, revealing the scientist that Lloyd, Guy and Genis met.

"Gerald!" they all shouted at the same time.

Gerald was holding his arm, which was holding the crystal the last time and got himself injured through his arm. He nodded slightly to the three heroes that he met. "Hello, Lloyd, Guy, Genis. I am grateful that you three are still alive..." Gerald then looked at Chester, whom he had not know yet. "Oh! So you must be the archer that the villagers were talking about. I thank you for saving the village and our visitors here."

Chester nodded in return, smiling at the scientist. "It's no problem at all. I just couldn't stand those bastards trying to destroy this peaceful village."

"I see. I understood it well." The scientist smiled and he looked at the mayor, giving him a nod as a sign to go on.

Rekos nodded in return, facing the four heroes to begin his explanation. "I have heard from Gerald that you possessed the Auracite?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. We got the Auracite from an elf named Heimal, who went into your village without being detected. Genis, show the crystal to him." Genis gave Lloyd a nod, as he dug his hand into his left pocket and pulled out a sapphire-colored crystal.

Rekos's eyes widened, at the sight of the crystal. "I see... Hm... Well, there is no other choice, but to explain to you why the Auracite is forbidden in this village..."

Hearing it, Guy looked at the mayor with a hint of curiosity and confusion. "Forbidden...? Why?"

"Well... How can I explain this...?" Rekos scratched his chin, thinking of a way to explain the situation to the heroes. "You see... The Auracite holds... a mysterious and cursed power..."

"Cursed?" repeated Genis, curious to know about the Auracite being... cursed, as what the mayor said. "Why is the power cursed?"

"Hm... Well... The Auracites... are actually... the crystals made from the devil itself." said Rekos, as he received a silent gasp from the heroes. "Yes... They were made by the gods of hell, in the ancient times. The reason why the Dark Raiders want the Auracites is because it contains the power to turn the will of the people into... darkness."

"Into darkness...?" said Lloyd.

"Yes. I figured all that out when Heimal went inside. After researching the effect that Heimal had, I soon came to conclusion that Heimal's will has turned into darkness, thanks to the Auracite. The Auracite is dangerous. And it will soon take control of those who hold it into their will. That was why I forbid the Auracite. Because it would be a grave danger of our world..."

"The mayor already explained it all to me." said Gerald. It was his turn next. "I told you all that I felt a surge through my arm. And it was something dark. That was the effect of the Auracite's infection over the holder of it. If I continue to hold the Auracite in my hand... Well... I would turn out the same way... as what happened to Heimal..."

"So... To make it all simple and understandable for all of us..." stated Genis, reconfigurating all the informations together. "The Auracites are made from demonic creatures, like Chaos... They will turn the people's hearts into darkness. And they will try and destroy everything in their way. So... Heimal was the victim of the Auracite's effect, making him turn into something devilish."

Rekos nodded. "Correct."

"But there are two things that make me wonder..."

"And what would that be?"

"Why did Heimal gave the Auracite to me? And why aren't we... affected by the crystal, when we were holding them for a long time?"

"Hm... For the first one..." started Rekos. "... It seemed that he might be released from the crystal's effect... However, we are not sure of it... And for the second one... Well, I do not know why."

"Maybe I can be the judge of that." stated Gerald, knowing the answer of the second question. "I have been researching through the library and I read the legend of the world. Terendos is an ancient which was lost by the Dark Raiders. As the world has many, many Auracite, the Dark Raiders are trying to regain the crystals and use their powers against their victims. Like what the mayor said, the Auracites have the power to change the hearts of the people into something chaotic. But..." He started to walk toward a book shelf, which was standing on the wall left of Rekos' side, and he looked for a certain book to explain the answer. "Ah, there it is..." he said, pulling out a book and opened it, reading some parts of it. "This book says... The Auracite will not affect the chosen heroes, as their heart are as pure as the heaven's light... Meaning..." He closed the book, with a smile on his face. "... You four are not affected by it, because..."

Guy, who understood what Gerald was trying to say, was rather surprised. "Wait... You mean...? We're actually the... chosen heroes...?" The other heroes had the same reaction as he did, looking at Guy for the moment before looking back at Gerald.

Gerald nodded. "That is correct. You four might be the chosen heroes that we're long needing. The heroes who will help us bring peace to Terendos. The heroes who will bring an end to Chaos and the Dark Raiders... You might be our savior from the legends."

"We're... legends...?" said Lloyd, who could not believe what he heard. But somehow, he was overjoyed.

Rekos, who was smiling all this time because of the moment behind the legend, looked at the heroes with joy. "You four have saved us from the Dark Raiders' destructive attack. It made me believe that you all... might be our savior that we have long needed for so long..." He bowed to the four heroes. "... I humbly give you all my gratitude... You might be the chosen heroes of light..."

"Us... The chosen heroes of light..." said Chester, starting to believe that, after all the actions that the four heroes had made, they were the chosens of Terendos. Then, he realized something amiss in it. "Wait, hold on a sec. You mean to tell me that we're the only chosen heroes? There has gotta be more than just us."

Gerald nodded, answering to Chester's question about it. "You're right. There are actually more chosens than you all of the chosen heroes formed together as one, legendary group... There will be a possibility that they will defeat the one who reigns havoc on this world."

"Yes. That must be it." said Rekos. "If you seek all of the chosen heroes of light, you will be able to defeat anyone standing in your way. Even the King of the Dark Raiders. Chaos."

"Yes. Only the chosen heroes are capable of defeaing the great evils of the world. Only you and the rest of them are able to defeat him. Only you!"

Lloyd grinned, overjoyed of what he was hearing, thus, was also confident about all of this. "Alright! That sounds like a real blast! All we have to do is to find the other chosen heroes and we'll go on and defeat Chaos without any problem at all!" he said.

"Hold on a second, Lloyd." said Guy. "Even the chosen heroes need some time to level up. If we find all of them and go straight ahead to Chaos, there will be a chance that we'll lose. So, even if we find all of them, we need some time to get stronger, Lloyd. Don't think ahead of yourself like that."

"Oh... Right... Sorry, Guy." said Lloyd, who went from joy to depression. "But... How are we supposed to find the rest of the heroes? In Traverse Town? In Menosan? Where?"

Genis groaned in annoyance, looking down on Lloyd's lack of information. "Lloyd, Terendos is a world, remember?!" He slowly stood up from the ground, after a long explanation from both the mayor and the scientist. "Traverse Town and Menosan are not the only places in the world. There are also others. You just have to go and travel around and look for some new towns and villages."

"The boy is right." confirmed Rekos. "It is quite possible that most of the remaining heroes might be somewhere in the other places of this world. You just have to seek them out. However..." He turned himself around from the heroes, fearing the worst that might happen to them. "... There will be some places... that are occupied by the Dark Raiders..."

Genis gasped. "What...?"

"It is sad, but true... Half of the world's population, half of the towns and villages... are at the Raiders' control. They could not escape from this terror. They have no hope left for this... It is quite sad, unfortunately..." The mayor hanged his head down in sadness. "... If they ever try and resist their control... They will be executed... Or worse... The Dark Raiders will turn the people's will into darkness, by the use of the Auracite..."

It was now Gerald's turn to hang his head down. "... Not too long ago... We lost some of the villagers to the Dark Raiders... And soon then, the warriors of the Pawn class attacked... We handled them all, but we founded out that they were the captured villagers of our home... We could not tell why they turned against us... But It is most likely that the Dark Raiders turned them evil..."

"That's... horrible..." said Lloyd.

"So... You four... with all of our hope..." Rekos began to kneel down to the heroes. "... Save our world... Save it from Chaos' forces... Save it with your life... I beg of you... Please, bring the peace back in our world..."

"... Rekos..." Lloyd was sad, learning that this world had suffered from the Dark Raiders' chaotic destruction. He could feel what it was like, to live in a world filled with sadness, hatred, vengeance and destruction... He couldn't stand this much suffering. "... Alright... We'll bring the peace back into this world. We will stop Chaos from bring anymore suffering in this world. We WILL save Terendos! I'm sure of it! Right, guys?!" He turned to the other heroes, awaiting for their answer.

Genis, who was also confident of bringing the peace back, nodded. "Yeah! We can't let someone like Chaos trying to bring more havoc in this world! We gotta do it! For Terendos!

Guy nodded, with a face that was so serious than anything. "Chaos and the Dark Raiders must be stop. We cannot let this go further into the world. For the people of Terendos, we will bring back to lost peace which was taken away from them."

Chester agreed to the three heroes' wishes. "We can't let the people of Terendos suffer like this. It's time for us to bring the peace back, after all those times. It's time for us to fight back against the Dark Raiders. So you can count on us to finish the job with Chaos!"

"... Thank you... Chosen heroes of light..." said the mayor, grateful of the strong will that the heroes have possessed. "Now... I think it's best that we will entrust you with these..." Rekos walked toward a desk, on the other side of the room. On the desk was a bag. He grabbed it and went back to the others. "This bag contains 10 apple gels, 10 orange gels and 5 life bottles. Use them well. You can also put in other items, as you wish." He handed the bag to Lloyd, who then took it from his hand.

"Thanks, mayor. I'm sure that those items will be useful." said Lloyd, giving the mayor a smile.

"Now then... Chosen heroes of Terendos... The heroes who will bring light to our world... Begin your journey around the world, to seek for the rest of the chosens. And bring peace back into this world... To defeat the demon that brings havoc in this world... Let your journey... Begin now." Rekos stated, bowing to the heroes. "I give you all my hope."

Gerald also bowed to the heroes. "You are our only hope for peace... Protect us, my friends..." Then, Gerald soon realized one thing. "Hold on! I forgot about something!"

Genis looked at him, with a questioned look. "What is it, Gerald?"

"If you found Heimal... Please, bring him back to us. His crimes are forgiven."

Guy nodded. "Will do."

"Thank you."

"Alright!" exclaimed Lloyd. "Dwarven Vow Number 1: We must all work together for a peaceful world!" He was quite happy that he was able to bring one of the dwarven vows into mind.

Genis chuckled. "It's about time you decided to say one of the dwarven vows! Hah hah!"

Guy and Chester, however, did not know what the dwarven vows are, since they did not live in their world. "Hm... Must be running in their world..." said Guy. Chester nodded in agreement.

"Alright, you guys! Let's go on a journey!" shouted Lloyd, as he walked towards the front door, exiting the house. Genis, Guy and Chester went along with him, to begin the journey to search for the rest of the chosen heroes.

As they left the house, Rekos had only one thing to say. "... Be strong... Saviors..."

As the four heroes left the house, Lloyd stretched out his arms and gave the others a cheerful grin on his face. "Alright! Another journey, another way to start off fighting!" Lloyd was about to continue to walk, until he stopped. "Uh... Where are we going?"

Genis groaned once more at Lloyd. "Idiot! You're the one who spurt it out without thinking!"

"Hey, don't blame me! I don't know what are the places in Terendos! What do you expect me to know about it?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Genis looked at Guy. "Guy, do you know where should we go first?"

"Hm..." Guy placed his hand on his chin, doing a thinking position. "I'm not really sure. I couldn't tell where we should go next. Hm... Where...?"

"Syranas." stated Chester.

The three heroes looked at Chester. "Huh? Syranas?" asked Lloyd.

"Yeah. I forgot to tell you guys that I'm looking for someone. Her name is Arche Klaine. She's a friend of mine. And we were separated from each other after we got sent into this world. I searched in Traverse Town and Menosan, but no luck. So my next stop is in Syranas. And I hope Arche is in there, at the very least..."

"Syranas, huh?" said Guy. "Isn't that the place close to the ocean? The one called "The Water City"?"

Chester nodded in confirmation. "That's right. I'm heading there as soon as I can. I need to find Arche as soon as possible. She might be there."

Lloyd nodded, smiling. "Alright! Syranas, it is, then! Hopefully, we can find at least the chosens in there. Right, Guy?"

"Yeah. It is most likely the case. Alright. Let's head to Syranas, to search for Arche and the chosens. You with us, Genis?" He turned to look at Genis, to get some word out of him. But all he saw was that the young half-elf just stood here, thinking about something. "Genis?"

Genis was in a deep thought about all that happened. And the information he gained about Terendos. Then, he came to a conclusion. "Guys... I'm sorry... But I have to stay behind."

"What? What do you mean, Genis?" asked Lloyd.

"After all that happened lately... I need to learn more about Terendos and maybe the origin of the Dark Raiders. So I won't be able to join you guys for this. I'm sorry."

Guy only nodded, smiling at him. "It's alright. After all, there are still so many things that we don't know about Terendos. Or even the Dark Raiders. So, if you have any specific information for us, go and look for us around the world. Ok, Genis?"

Genis nodded, with a face full of confidence. "I'll do my best!" He then looked at Lloyd. "And Lloyd... Save Colette... for the good of all of us. Alright?"

Lloyd nodded. "It's a promise. I will bring Colette back from the Dark Raiders. Just wait and see, Genis." And with that, he placed his fist on Genis' head and rubbed it around, chuckling and smiling.

"H-hey! Stop that, Lloyd!" Genis was laughing along side with him. Since the two of them were best friends, they get along real nicely.

Smiling at the two best friends, Guy decided to separate them. "Alright, you two. There's no time for that. Come on, Lloyd. Let's get going. And Genis, do your best on searching for some information." With that, Guy walked away, along with Chester.

"Alright! See ya around, Genis!" said Lloyd, as he left off with the two others.

Genis could only watch the three heroes leaving the village, in search for the other heroes of light. "Good luck... Lloyd."

And so, Lloyd Irving, Guy Cecil and Chester Barklight left Menosan to go on another journey to search for the rest of the chosen heroes of light, the saviors of the world of Terendos. They learned that by gathering all of the heroes together, in hope to bring peace of the world, they will be able to fight against Chaos and win. However, Terendos was a big place. And there are many places to find the heroes in. This might be a long journey...

Syranas was, as they called it, the "Water City", as it was close to the ocean, at the shore. However, it wasn't the only thing that they called it the Water City. Our heroes will know for sure why they called it that...

About half way to the road to Syranas, after a lot of battles against monsters outside, our heroes were, not surprisingly, not tired after all these fights. They were capable of taking care of themselves. A bunch of fights was not enough to tire out our heroes. After walking down the road for quite a long time, Lloyd's stomach growled in hunger. He held his stomach and chuckled nervously. "Heh heh... I guess it's time for some lunch, huh?"

Guy and Chester, who were just in front of Lloyd, turned around to look at him. Guy could only chuckle at the sound of the stomach growling. "Well, it's been a long time since I last ate. So, let's stop here for some lunch."

Chester nodded. "Yeah... There's always a good time to take a snack before continuing on. Any ideas on what we should eat?"

Lloyd smiled, as he dug in his pocket to pull out a small bag, which contained a sandwich. "It's a good thing that I bring a sadwich with me, before I got sucked into that world!"

"Alright, Lloyd! A simple sandwich always help our stomach out. Let's cut it up into three pieces." said Guy, as he took the bag from Lloyd and took out the sandwich. He drew out his sword and slowly and steadily cut it into three pieces, for the three heroes to eat it up. "Alright, it's time. Dig in." Guy gladly took a bite from the piece.

Lloyd, as hungry as he was, chew down almost half of his piece of sandwich with delight. "MM! It's still good!" he said it with joy.

Chester also took a bite from it, who seemed impressed by the perfect mix of ingredients fromthe sandwich. "Wow. Gotta admit, it does taste good. You made this?"

Lloyd chuckled, with his mouth full of food. "Yep! My phader thaut me how tho make a loth of food!"

Chester chuckled, when Lloyd talked with his mouth full. "Hey, remember to keep your manners. Girls won't be interested in you if you do something like that." Guy chuckled along with Chester. Then, the three heroes ended up laughing in their moment of time.

However, they did not notice that someone... Two people, even... were watching them from the shadows of the leaves of the tree, which was over the heroes. Their eyes were pratically visible. One person had flame-red eyes, while the other one had sky-blue eyes. They were looking down on Lloyd, for some reason.

"Lloyd... Irving..." said the red-eyed person.

"There he is... We finally caught up to him..." said the sky-blue-eyed person. "... Let's bring back Lumen's core from him... Ready?"

The red-eyed scoffed. "I'm always ready... When it comes with him!" With that he jumped off the branch, as well as the sky-blue-eyed one.

Guy was the first to notice the quick ambush from above, alarming the two heroes. "Guys, look out!" He jumped out of the ambush's range.

"Wha...?" Lloyd didn't know what Guy was talking about, until he noticed the ambush, thus, avoiding the attack, by jumping back from it.

"Grr...!" Chester did the same thing as Lloyd and Guy, avoiding the range of the ambush. A few dust of earth were made around the ambush point, hiding the two people's appearances. Then, when the clouds are cleared, they are exposed.

The red-eyed person had a blond hair. He wore a black scarf around his collarbone, some kind of blue, short robe, with straps around it, a pair of black pants, with a yellow stripe on each side and around the end of each side of his pants, which the stripes was continued down on his shoes, of the same color. He also wore a pair of long-sleeved gloves, with two short arm warm-ups from each side. His sword was carried behind him, tied on his waist, along with his pouch.

The other one, the sky-blue-eyed girl, had a long, pale brown hair, with two flowers attached on the side of the upper part of the head. She wore a dress, or at least, two top clothes. A black one and over it, a white one with pink lines and a small, yet cute tie. On her arms, there was a long-sleeved cloth, matching the color of her dress, and a pair of white gloves. On her right hand, there was a dual spinner attached to it. Also, she wore a pair of long, black socks and brown pair of shoes.

With their appearances shown, they both looked at Lloyd. "Lloyd Irving! I found you!" said the blond boy.

"Huh? What the...? How did you know my name? I never met you before..." said Lloyd, rather confused on how they know his name.

"I am here... to KILL you, you bastard!"

"What...?!"

"Remember me? I am Emil Castagnier! The one who will bring an end to your destruction to the people of Sylvarant!" The blond boy drew out his sword from his sheath, pointing it at Lloyd. "Prepare to die!"

"What... What's going on?! What are you talking about?! Destruction to the people of Sylvarant?!"

"Lloyd Irving... My name is Marta Lualdi..." said the young girl, opening her dual spinner. "... I believe you have something that you took from us. Hand over Lumen's Core!"

"What...?! What are you two talking about?!"

"Don't play dumb, you dumbass!" shouted Emil. "You can't pretend that you don't know what happened or that it wasn't you! I saw it in my very eyes... you KILLED my parents!!"

Lloyd was in shock. He could not believe what he heard. "... Killed... your parents...? But... What's going on...?! What's going on, damnit...?!?! What are you two talking about?!"

"Enough playing around! Let's do it, Emil!" said Marta, as she charged at Lloyd with a fierce offense.

"Right!" Emil did the same thing, out of rage, at Lloyd.

Lloyd was immobilized. He could not move and inch because of what he heard from the two people. He could not move after that, even when the two of them were charging at him.

Can our hero of Symphonia be able to stand up against them?

**End of chapter**

Hey, guys. It's me again. Well, another chapter done! And don't forget, the skit chapter witll come real soon. And don't forget this either. Do you want me to put Luke in the main team? I await your answers soon.

Until then, see ya! And review, please!


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